Government ‘failed to implement safeguards’

The International Transport Workers’ Federation yesterday said two government departments have repeatedly failed to put in place safeguards to protect seafarers in the fishing industry from similar tragedies.

Its co-ordinator for Britain and Ireland, Ken Fleming, claimed some workers in the industry are illegal. He claims to have previously alerted the offices of Transport Minister Leo Varadkar and Jobs Minister Richard Bruton. “A fundamental aspect of the industry not addressed in the MCIB report, and one studiously ignored by both departments, is that many of the workers are here illegally, have no rights and, therefore, operate at the whim of the owners and operators of vessels.

“The contracts of employment for these men, where they exist, are illegal and, therefore, unenforceable. They cannot refuse to work no matter what the weather conditions are or however many hours they have worked already.

“Both departments have been made aware of this situation repeatedly by the ITF since at least 2008.

“It would be astounding that nowhere does the report address the fact that all of the Egyptian seafarers who drowned on the Tit Bonhomme, along with the sole survivor Abdelbaky Abdelgawad Mohamad, were working here illegally if it were not for the fact that to do so would draw attention to official inaction and culpability in this matter.”