Asian countries unite for protection of seafarers


Delegates attend the Seafarers Rights International Conference Manila 2018. Photo: SRI Manila
Delegates attend the Seafarers Rights International Conference Manila 2018. Photo: SRI Manila

More than ten Asian seafaring nations on Tuesday convened to create the Manila Statement on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers, in a bid to ensure that maritime workers' rights are recognized.
The regional conference for stakeholders was organized by international research body Seafarers Rights International (SRI) and the Department of Labor (DOLE).
"Asia is the largest supplier of seafarers to the international fleet and seafarers are recognised as essential to the conduct of international trade and as a special category of worker," the SRI said.
"Given the global nature of the shipping industry and the different jurisdictions that seafarers may be brought into contact with, they need special protection, especially in relation to contacts with public authorities in the event of a maritime accident," it added.
Among the delegates were government officials and ambassadors from Asian countries, shipowners, seafarers' unions, seafarers, senior representatives from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labor Organization (ILO), casualty investigators, and members of the academe.
They discussed resource, knowledge, and expertise development aligned with the Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers, which was agreed upon by the IMO and ILO.
The SRI said it hopes that as Asia's seafaring nations lead the promotion of seafarers' protection, other regions in the world will also be catalyzed to take action. — Dona Magsino/BM, GMA News

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