Fishermen call on the government to ratify ILO Convention 188

Stakeholders in the fishing sector have called on the government to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Fishing Labour Convention 188 (2007).

Nana Kweigyah, the President of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), reiterating the call from the National Union of Teamsters and General Workers (NUTEG), said ratifying the convention would provide the needed protection to fishers in Ghana, who worked under unacceptable conditions.

Speaking during the distribution of life jackets to artisan fishers in Akplabanya in the Ada West District, Nana Kweighah said the distribution of the jackets formed part of the efforts to promote safety among Ghana’s artisanal fisheries.

He said the objective of the Convention was to ensure that fishers had decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels regarding minimum requirements for work on board, including conditions of service, accommodation and food, occupational safety and health protection, medical care, and social security protection.

Other issues the Convention addresses include rest periods and written work agreements, to ensure that fishing vessels are constructed and maintained to provide decent living conditions on board, among others for fishers.

He indicated that ratifying the Convention meant the country had committed to exercising control over fishing vessels through inspection, reporting, monitoring, complaint procedures, penalties, and corrective measures.

He said fishers in Shama and Apam had also received life jackets from his outfit.

He urged canoe owners and fishing crew to prioritise safety, including occupational health, to protect lives at sea, adding that to ensure this was achieved, the initiative to promote the use of life jackets among fishers would be sustained with an arrangement to supply canoe owners with life jackets on a credit basis.

He appealed to the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MoFAD), and other institutions and non-governmental organisations to support fishers with personal protective equipment towards the promotion of safety at sea.

Mr Desmond Sackey, the Secretary General of NUTEG, urged canoe owners to provide the equipment needed for the protection of their crews, as failure to do so went against the laws of the country.

Mr Sackey said Section 118 (1) of Act 651 (the Labour Act 2003) stipulated that “it is the duty of every employer to ensure that his or her employees work under satisfactory, safe, and healthy conditions.”

Captain Darlington Newton Akrofi, a Principal Marine Officer, who is the Head of Search and Rescue and Head of Maritime Security at the Ghana Maritime Authority, sensitised fishers on safety at sea and educated them on the proper use of life jackets.