ILWU and ILA delegations at the ITF Congress: (left to right) ILWU Director of International Affairs Ray Familathe, ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, ILWU International  Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, ILA General Organizer Jerry Owens, ILA's John Baker nd ILA Legislative Representative Ingo Esders.

By Steve Stallone

Facing an era of ever increasing capitalist globalization, with trans-national corporations that own and control the economy consolidating their power and using it to lower the living standards of those who work for them, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) held its 41st Congress in Durban, South Africa Aug. 2-9. 

At the gathering, the ITF, a world-wide organization of 624 docker, seafarer, truck, rail and aviation unions from 142 countries, scoped out a strategy to respond and protect its members. The ILWU, which is affiliated with the ITF, sent a delegation of four to the meeting—International President Bob McEllrath, International Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, ILWU Canada President Tom Dufresne and ILWU Director of International Affairs Ray Familathe.

“Strong transport unions are central to exerting social control over the global economy, but to do that we can no longer rely on the traditional way of organizing,” the ITF’s General Secretary David Cockroft told the assembled delegates at the opening of the meeting. “We have to get unions to focus on appealing to new groups of people who are joining the work force.”

The Congress’ theme, “Organizing Globally: Fighting for our Rights,” was reflected in the programs its participants agreed to implement. In the Dockers’ Section this meant the “Ports of Convenience” campaign targeting ports and terminals with substandard conditions for dockworkers. This is occurring mostly in places where ports are being privatized and union dockers are being replaced with casual workers. The campaign will coordinate solidarity actions aimed at employers trying to break up union contracts. 

At the Congress delegates unanimously agreed to set up an AP Moeller-Maersk worldwide network of union activists and officials to organize employees at the company and its subsidiaries and contractors. The first meeting of the AP Moeller-Maersk network will be organized next spring in Copenhagen, the location of Maersk’s headquarters.

During the meeting, delegates watched a Dutch-made film on the campaign by European dockers to defeat the recent attempts by the European Union to pass the Directive on Self Handling which would have allowed seafarers to perform longshore work by loading and discharging cargo from ships. Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia and newly elected chair of the Dockers’ Section, reminded delegates how such international solidarity actions aided his union in 1998 when the stevedoring company Patrick conspired with the Australian government to eliminate the jobs of 1,400 dockers and replace them with non-union workers.


Newly elected ITF President Randall Howard emphasized the need to organize women and young people.

The delegates at the Dockers’ Section also discussed the current situation with dockers in Mexico and Latin America as terminal operators move to use Pacific Coast ports there as alternatives to U.S. West Coast ports operated by the ILWU.
“Since the early 1990s when ILWU delegations visited Mexican longshore workers in Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas we have a good rapport with them,” ILWU Director of International Affairs Ray Familathe said. “We are looking to reconnect with them and schedule meetings and further discussions to strengthen relations and mutual solidarity.”

The Seafarers’ Section focused on a new international Maritime Labor Convention, also known as the “Seafarers’ Bill of Rights,” bringing together and updating more than 60 maritime labor standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO). It would set minimum requirements for seafarers’ conditions of employment, including accommodations, recreational facilities, food, health, medical care, welfare and social security protection. Ships covered by the convention would be required to have certificates proving they meet these key standards.

At the Congress the ILO’s Director of Labor Standards Doumbia-Henry told the delegates that at least 30 countries representing 33 percent of world shipping gross tonnage had to ratify the convention before it could come into force. She announced that the ILO would pursue a five-year action plan to promote the rapid ratification of the convention.

The Congress also elected new officers to run the federation for the next four years. Randall Howard, General Secretary of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) was elected president of the ITF, becoming the first African and youngest leader of the organization in its 110 year history.

“I am looking forward to seeing the ITF expanding with new memberships following this process of unity, and also because of our renewed commitments to recruitment and organizing, particularly of women and young workers,” Howard said in his acceptance speech after being elected president. “There are key priorities in terms of making sure unions can operate democratically to defend workers. We have to take a strong position against those who are attacking quality employment, and basic rights—for example, in Iran, Pakistan and Australia.”

“As a leader, Randall Howard is a man of action, resourceful and full of creative energy,” ILWU International Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams said. “He will be a beacon of light for the ITF. His speech was passionate and it struck a chord with the delegates.”

Howard’s union, Satawu, was the Congress’ host union. It was formed in 2000 as a merger between the Transport and General Worker’s Union (TGWU) and the South African Railways and Harbors Union (SARHWU). Both unions received ITF-coordinated assistance during the days of apartheid and with their recently combined strength were able to halt attempts to privatize the country’s railways. SAWATU is a member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), one of four trade union centers in the country. Of the 2.9 million trade union members in South Africa 1.8 million belong to COSATU affiliates, which is 38.9 percent of the trade union movement in South Africa.

Paddy Crumlin was elected chair of the Dockers’ Section and Lars Lundgren of the Swedish Transport Workers Union took over the 1st Vice Chair position while ILA International President John Bowers became 2nd Vice Chair. ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, who nominated both Crumlin and Bowers for their positions, will serve on the Steering Committee of the Dockers’ Section and on the Joint Seafarer-Docker Committee, as well as chair the North American Dockers Committee.

Recognizing AIDS is the most globalized epidemic in history and how the crisis is having a profound affect on transportation workers, the ITF Congress voted to prepare a worldwide campaign against HIV/AIDS to be launched on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, 2006. Holding its Congress for the first time in Africa, where 30 percent of the population is HIV positive and projections are for that to double in the next five to ten years, gave the matter further urgency. So the Congress committed its affiliated unions to a campaign of programs and activities designed to combat the spread of the virus, and to provide care and support to those infected and their families.

In other matters the Congress also condemned the continuing violence in the Middle East and called for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine as the only way to peace. The Congress passed another emergency resolution against the Iranian government’s abuses of workers’ rights. It also condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, London and Madrid, called for no outside intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela and Cuba, for the ITF and its affiliates to prioritize the participation of women in their organizations and for moves to strengthen trade union rights in Pakistan.