Cristian Castaño, FSC-CCOO, reflects on the globalised nature of shipping, international legislation, and the protection of seafarers’ rights.

The ETF and ITF respond to the blockage of the Suez Canal and emphasise that unless the industry’s ‘race to the bottom’ and workers’ safety concerns are addressed, the world could be in store for another Even Given-type crisis sooner than we think.

The ETF joins the global unions and cities across the world to demand that governments make an urgent injection of stimulus funding into public transport services and infrastructure in order to drive economic stimulus, create millions of jobs and tackle the climate crisis.

End of 2020, seven Member States – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Romania – challenged the Mobility Package in court. 15 court cases were opened against the Council and the European Parliament who in July last year adopted the Package with a large majority. Such action just goes to show how important this Package is, in restoring social and economic fair play in the road transport sector which for decades had been ripped apart by social fraud, human slavery and unfair competition between operators.