Trade unionists in countries visited by Dowa Line ships are taking action today in support of the All-Japan Seamen’s Union (JSU) which is being sued by the shipping company.

The attempt to muzzle the union in the courts follows a rally called by
the JSU in September 2009 outside Dowa’s Tokyo headquarters that called
for improved working conditions for seafarers on board its vessels and
protested against its anti-union stance.

The JSU’s concern, backed by the ITF and its affiliated unions, has
long been that, unlike the majority of crews on Japanese-owned ships,
those on Dowa Line vessels are not covered by any internationally
recognised collective bargaining agreement.

In protest at Dowa’s launching of this legal action against the JSU a
joint seafarers’ and dockers’ rally will be held outside its Tokyo
offices tomorrow, while in Trinidad, a major Dowa destination, ITF
representatives and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union
(SWWTU) will rally in support of their colleagues in Japan. ITF
personnel are in Trinidad and Tobago this week meeting with the
government there and with SWWTU President General Senator Michael
Annisette, who is backing the efforts to defend the JSU and persuade
Dowa Line to come to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile in ports in the US and Caribbean ITF inspectors will continue
to monitor Dowa vessels and will be sending letters to the company
reiterating the ITF’s stance that it is time for the company to
recognise its social responsibilities and drop its anti-trade union
outlook. Inspectors and fellow trade unionists will also seek to raise
their concerns with the company, with the public, and with the
Government of Japan, building on a visit made earlier this week to the
Japanese Consulate in Oregon.

Graham Young, ITF Head of Maritime Operations, commented: “The JSU has
long pushed the case for dialogue and trade union representation to
Dowa, and we’re sorry that Dowa has reached out not for the offer of
talks but instead for the courts.”

“Dowa’s reluctance to negotiate with the JSU is in stark contrast with
the vast majority of Japanese owners and operators using flags of
convenience, and whose vessels are covered by ITF-approved agreements
guaranteeing minimum standards for their crews. As the unions have
pointed out, Dowa Line risks undermining the principles of dialogue
between employers that we believe is an essential part of fair global
trade – endangering decent wages and conditions and making it more
difficult to maintain hard-won high standards on other companies’
fleets.”

Dowa Line is a Japanese company with a fleet of 24 bulk and cargo
vessels, most of which fly the Panamanian flag and operate in the
Caribbean and to North and South America. Its vessels are managed by
Hiong Guan Navegacion Co Ltd, a company registered at the same address
as Dowa in Japan. Dowa vessels are crewed by Filipino seafarers.
Although the great majority of crews working on Japanese-owned ships
registered under flags of convenience are covered by ITF agreements,
Dowa Line has repeatedly rejected the idea of having such agreements on
board its vessels.

Source: ITF

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