From the Dispatcher at ILWU.org:
The ILWU joined a successful effort by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) to win better working conditions for seafarers in an industry that traditionally shunned unions and abused maritime workers. The agreement also protects dockworkers by recognizing their right to perform lashing and other cargo handling duties at ports around the world.
The ITF’s global consortium of unions, including the ILWU, were able to square-off with employers represented by the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) – the shipping industry’s largest employer group. The result is a four-year agreement covering seafarers that provides a 2.5% salary increases beginning January 2019, with a review of wages after two years and the opportunity to negotiate further increases.
To help protect seafarers and win jurisdictional protection for dockworkers, the ITF launched a global campaign in May of 2015, called “Reclaim Lashing.” The effort exposed dangerous work practices that threatened the health and safety of seafarers who were ordered to perform lashing and other duties that were outsides of their training, skills, and scope of work. A series of actions in European and Canadian ports helped focus pressure on the industry to adopt reforms.
ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe participated in the effort through his capacity as First Vice Chair of the ITF’s Dockers Section. Familathe praised efforts by European and Canadian leaders who helped secure the agreement, including ITF Dockers Section Second Vice-Chair Torben Seebold, for coordinating the campaign in European ports.