ICS
submitted the principles to shipping’s global UN regulators, the International
Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO),
ahead of a joint meeting alongside governments, shipowners and unions.
Among the new suite of principles are
the need for individual companies to clearly define and communicate what
harassment and bullying means for them, including examples of behaviours
that constitute these actions. The principles also emphasise the value of
establishing clear and unambiguous company complaints management procedures
that cover the shoreside and all shipboard departments with a dedicated
complaints manager assigned as investigator to each of these groups.
In a
separate paper to be considered at the upcoming ILO/IMO meeting, ICS emphasises
that company policies and initiatives alone will not suffice to address the
issue, adding that the maritime sector’s
ability to successfully combat harassment and bullying also depends highly on
the effectiveness of collaboration between governments, shipowners’ and
seafarers’ representatives (unions), including to promote positive cultures on
board.
“While
shipowners are responsible for implementing shipboard policies and
complementary measures to eliminate harassment and bullying from ships,
national governments and seafarers’ unions also have important roles to play.,”
commented Tim Springett, chair of the ICS labour affairs committee.
The
Seafarers’ International Union of Canada (SIU) recently published a report on
workplace harassment and bullying within the Canadian marine sector, which
indicated that 46% of seafarers have
experienced harassment or bullying at some point in their career as a seafarer.
Last
year, the Center for Maritime Health and Society (CMSS) at the University of
Southern Denmark held a similar investigation looking at the extent of
harassment and bullying on Danish ships on behalf of the Danish Maritime
Authority. The investigation found that
approximately 17% of the respondents experienced bullying at their workplace,
while 11% had been exposed to harassment.