The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has accused several French and Spanish companies that own tuna fishing vessels of violating international labor laws regarding minimum wage and ignoring the grievances of fishing industry trade unions pushing for fair pay negotiations.
ITF, a global transport industry union, claims the French and Spanish companies –which operate in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea – are undermining sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs) the E.U. has signed with several African nations. The labor laws’ guidance concerning minimum pay, the ITF said, are clearly enshrined in the SFPAs.
The agreements, states Yoro Kane, the general secretary of the Senegalese fishers’ union, define minimum monthly pay as USD 658 (EUR 590) for locally employed fishers in accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) minimum pay recommendation for fishers. According to Kane, African fishers working on the vessels in question are, on average, making about one-third that figure, at USD 219 (EUR 196) monthly.
“The ITF believes that fishers should be treated equal to their seafarer colleagues in merchant shipping covered by comprehensive collective bargaining agreements [regarding] pay and all conditions of work,” Johnny Hansen, chair of the fisheries section of the ITF, added. “They should be entitled, [at a] minimum, to the ILO minimum basic wage of USD 658 and the ITF minimum consolidated wage of USD 1,156 [EUR 1,051] in 2023, or the minimum wage of the flag state should be applied, whichever is higher, unless otherwise agreed in already historically existing national collective bargaining agreements.”
More than 2,000 crew members across 64 French and Spanish tuna vessels, representing 80 percent of the fleet fishing in the Gulf of Guinea, put down their equipment and walked off their posts in early June 2023 to protest the low pay and noncompliance with ILO provisions.
Kane claimed that the French and Spanish companies received a full month’s strike notice but that “this was [an] insufficient [amount of time] to focus them on reaching a settlement in accordance with international agreements.”
The strike concluded at the end of July after the governments of Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) intervened and asked the strikers to resume work and engage in dialogue with the French and Spanish employers.
“A campaign has been waged by unions from Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire, the main labor-providing countries, to force the French and Spanish employers to engage with us on this and many other grievances,” Kane said.
Kane and others remain skeptical, though, of likely progress occurring, pointing to previous instances in which French and Spanish companies exploiting tuna resources in the region failed to engage with both the fishers and their unions “in good faith.”
Kane said the European Commission (E.C.), as well as the governments of Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire, should address SFPA noncompliance by the “super profitable companies” owned by France and Spain.
Hansen, in the meantime, will act as a liaison and engage with the French and Spanish employers, the E.C., and European companies up and down the supply chain to achieve a lasting solution.
However, so far, neither side has gained much ground in negotiations.
Ironically, Spain ratified the Work in Fishing Convention in February 2023, which focuses on ensuring better working conditions and pay for fishers onboard fishing vessels → with specific provisions on minimum work requirements, conditions of service, accommodation and food, occupational safety and health protection, medical care, and social security.
The convention enters into force in February 2024, but the claims Kane and the ITF have made run directly counter to the stated goals of the convention. The dichotomy between Spain’s desired public perception, and what it’s putting into action, has angered African workers and jeopardized negotiations, according to Kane.
The E.U. has signed SFPAs with at least 12 African countries that expire between 2023 and 2026, with the E.U. contributing an estimated EUR 239 million (USD 266 million) each year to these seafood-producing nations. The E.U. is also providing up to EUR 50 million (USD 56 million) in sectoral support through the SFPAs.
The African countries that have signed SFPAs with the E.U. include Cabo Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe, and The Gambia.
Guinea Bissau, whose SFPA with the E.U. expires in 2024, receives the highest annual contribution from the E.U., estimated at EUR 15.6 million (USD 17.3 million). Morocco’s four-year agreement with the E.U., meanwhile, expired in July 2023, and no firm decision has arisen concerning the deal’s renewal.
