To be afraid of the Prosecutor General’s Office and not to go to sea

The decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office to recognize the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) as an “undesirable organization” is “a blow to its own citizens,” the Russian Seafarers’ Union (RPSM) told Kommersant. According to them, the ITF has been helping sailors from the Russian Federation solve their problems for many years – in particular, it has organized their return home during the pandemic. The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that the ITF contributed to the “imposition of a ban on entry into seaports” of Russian ships. RPSM claims that there were no such cases and that the ITF, on the contrary, did not agree with the demand of Ukrainian trade unions to exclude Russians from the international organization. Maritime trade unions intend to demand the cancellation of the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation does not comment on the situation.

Let us remind you that on Tuesday the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation recognized the activities of the International Transport Workers Federation as undesirable. “Since the beginning of the special military operation, the leaders of this organization, who are citizens of Great Britain and Australia, have been making strong anti-Russian statements, openly condemning its conduct,” the department said in a statement. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ITF contributed to “the introduction by the maximum number of countries of a ban on the entry into their seaports of ships registered in our country or leased by Russian companies, as well as flying the Russian flag.” Trade unions controlled by the ITF disrupted the unloading of Russian ships in foreign ports, the Prosecutor General’s Office claims, in addition, the organization collected money for Ukraine as a sign of solidarity with Ukrainian transport workers.

The Chairman of the Russian Trade Union of Seafarers (part of the ITF), Yuri Sukhorukov, admitted to Kommersant that at first he did not even believe the news about the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office. “The inclusion of the ITF in the list of undesirable organizations is, first of all, a blow to our citizens,” Mr. Sukhorukov is sure. “Today, more than 198 thousand Russian seafarers are employed in maritime shipping – they mainly work under collective agreements that comply with the ITF standard. Anyone – I emphasize, anyone! – the sailor knows firsthand what ITF is. In many cases, this is the only authority where a Russian sailor will really get help. This applies to the return of unpaid wages, legal proceedings to protect rights, and in certain cases, provision of food. The ITF employs about 180 inspectors in almost all “maritime” countries of the world, they go to our sailors, collect their wages, and organize repatriation. It is difficult to overestimate what the ITF, with our help, has done during the pandemic in terms of repatriating Russian sailors.”

Mr. Sukhorukov claims that statements about the anti-Russian activities of the ITF are absolutely untrue: “We are not aware of cases where Russian ships were boycotted at the call of the ITF in connection with the SVO.” On the contrary, he says, the ITF leadership did not expel Russian transport unions from the organization, although Ukrainian trade unions persistently demanded this: “The position of the ITF has always been very balanced: neither the secretary general nor the president of the union has ever publicly spoken negatively about Russia. And the membership of Russian organizations in the international transport workers’ federations was retained in full.”

He reminds that after the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office, any cooperation with the ITF entails serious legal liability. “Formally, this means that a sailor who finds himself in a difficult situation and applies to the ITF automatically becomes a criminal,” states Yuri Sukhorukov. “A message about the “undesirability” of the ITF will certainly cause indignation among Russian sailors.”

The head of the trade union also calls the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office “an unconditional blow to Russian shipping.” In world practice, a system has developed in which profitable charters are concluded if there is a collective agreement with seafarers approved by the ITF, the expert explains: “There is a so-called time charter clause. If the document itself on the carriage of goods by sea does not contain a reference to the fact that the vessel has a collective agreement with an ITF certificate attached, this vessel simply will not enter, for example, an oil or LNG terminal.”

“The inability to benefit from the guarantees of ITF collective agreements, as well as to apply there in case of emergency and disputes with the shipowner, will make Russian seafarers vulnerable to competition in the international maritime labor market. This will deprive them of access to jobs with high wages and labor guarantees,” agrees the President of the Confederation of Labor of Russia, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, Boris Kravchenko.

Chairman of the International Confederation of Trade Unions of Water Transport Workers (unites the relevant trade unions of the CIS countries) Georgy Stolyarenko also believes that the “undesirability” of the organization will affect the commercial activities of Russian shipowners. If ITF agreements are not in place, ships will be subject to additional inspections by port inspectors, he says, and some cargo owners will not enter into contracts of carriage at all with those who do not have ITF agreements.

Mr. Stolyarenko calls the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office hasty and insufficiently reasoned. “The ITF has a good history dating back more than a century, and has established itself as an anti-fascist organization,” he insists. “The accusation of providing financial assistance to Ukraine creates the impression that we are talking about some kind of Russophobic organizations. However, according to our information, assistance was provided to the trade unions of river workers and seafarers to maintain the living standards of trade union members.”

The head of the Russian Union of Dockers (RPD), Maxim Kolyadintsev, in a conversation with Kommersant, called the ITF “only an international platform for the exchange of experience” and said that it did not provide “serious assistance in their work, so the severance of relations will not affect their work in any way.” However, on the RPD website the ITF logo is placed in the header of the main page. It also separately states that the dockers’ union “constantly involved the ITF in securing high standards for pay, working hours and other working conditions for port workers in Russian ports” and that it “participated in ITF actions.”

The press service of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia forwarded Kommersant to the Russian Trade Union of Railway Workers and Transport Builders. Its chairman, Sergei Chernogaev, told Kommersant that “recognition of the activities of the ITF in Russia as undesirable will have an insignificant impact on the activities of the trade union.” But he admitted that membership in the organization was “a mechanism for exchanging experiences aimed at learning positive practices to protect the interests and rights of trade union members, as well as improving working conditions.”

The Federal Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers and the Trade Union of Radiolocation, Radio Navigation and Communications Workers of Russia told Kommersant that they have not been cooperating with the ITF for several years. But the head of the All-Russian Trade Union of Road Transport and Road Workers, Vladimir Lomakin, said that the ITF mechanisms for exchanging international experience are very effective: “The problems of road workers around the world are similar, we met within the ITF, we learned how they are solved in other countries. I didn’t pay special attention, but I never noticed any politicization in the ITF’s position, including recently. The ITF has continued to be attentive to our requests, so it would be a shame to lose contact with them.” He added that the ITF never refused to consult them and organized training and cooperation with other unions.

A Kommersant source close to maritime trade unions suggests that the decision on the undesirability of the ITF was made by the Prosecutor General’s Office “bypassing the Ministry of Transport.” He said that the trade unions plan to outline a “consolidated position” in the near future and prepare arguments for reviewing the decision. The Ministry of Transport told Kommersant that they do not comment on the situation. “Kommersant” sent a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation about whether the department took into account the possible consequences of the “undesirability” of the ITF for sailors and business, but has not yet received a response. Kommersant also tried to find out the position of a member of the State Duma Committee on Labor, deputy chairman of the FNPR Andrei Isaev, but he refused to comment, citing poor health.

Polina Yachmennikova, Natalya Skorlygina