<<Print>>

Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, the General Secretary of the Maritime and Dockworkers Union was elected at the 43rd Congress of the International Transport Workers� Federation (ITF) as one of the four people representing Africa and the Arab World on the Steering Committee of the Dockers� Section of ITF. In addition to his election to the Steering Committee of the Dockers� Section, Mr Owusu-Koranteng was elected at the Congress to serve on the Fair Practices Committee (FPC) of the ITF, which sets standards for the working conditions of Seafarers and Dockers in the maritime industry. Since 1952, the Fair Practices Committee of ITF had been responsible for the development of the Flag of Convenience (FOC) campaign policy, providing direction and overseeing the FOC campaign. The International Transport Workers� Federation(ITF) is a global union federation of transport workers� trade unions founded in 1896 and currently has 700 member organisations in 150 countries representing a combined membership of about 5 million transport workers covering Civil Aviation, Dockers, Road Transport, Urban Transport, Seafarers, Inland Navigation , Tourism Services, Fisheries and Railways sectors. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers� unions on bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The ITF is allied with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The ITF held its 43rd Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria under the theme, �From Global crisis to Global Justice: Transport workers fighting back,� from 9th to 18th August 2014. About 2,000 delegates and advisors attended the congress in Sofia, Bulgaria. Specific issues relating to the Dockers� Section covered privatisation in ports, campaigns on Global Network Terminals (GNT), Strengthening solidarity capacity, port automation, the right to negotiate and sharing the benefits of automation including shorter working hours and social clauses. A common concern for representatives of the Dockers� Section at the congress was the attempt by companies to reduce worker and union strength in both ports run and managed by large international corporations as well as smaller privatised ports while increasing profits. Publicly managed ports also posed challenges, especially as many faced privatisation. To fulfil its constitutional mandate, the Congress elected officers for a four-year term. The ITF President Paddy Crumlin of the Maritime Union of Australia was re-elected unopposed and Steve Cotton was confirmed as the General Secretary of the ITF. The Flag of Convenience (FOC) campaign is against the practice where Ships fly the flags of a country other than the country of ownership to take advantage of minimal regulation, cheap registration fees, low or no taxes and freedom to employ cheap labour from the global market to work under precarious conditions. The ITF adopted a four-year programme , focussing on organising key hubs and corridors, leveraging key industry players , activating mass union membership and responding to geographic shifts. One key focus of the congress was the right to strike as workers across the world continue to struggle for better rights and conditions. The 43rd is the first digital and paperless congress organised by ITF based on environmental considerations and a demonstration of the commitment of ITF to climate change issues. Another innovation of the 43rd Congress of the ITF was the use of Participant Reporters who worked to generate reports on the activities of the congress and reported directly on the congress website for the millions of ITF members across the globe who were not physically present at the congress. The Participant Reporters, which included Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, increased the reportage of the congress proceedings. The 43rd Congress of ITF committed itself to the building of a strong global union and international solidarity to protect the rights of transport workers across the globe.