Mbour, 21-23 July 2022-The African Confederation of Profesional Organisations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA) is organizing a “training workshop on Convention 188 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on work in fishing: a question of the future for African artisanal fishing” from 21 to 23 July 2022.
The activity with 35 participants aims to promote the ratification and implementation of ILO C188 in all African countries.
Convention 188 on Work in Fishing was adopted in 2007 by government, worker and employer representatives at the ILO. Its objective is “to ensure that fishers enjoy decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels with respect to minimum requirements for work on board, conditions of service, accommodation and food, occupational safety and health protection, medical care and social security“.
C188 deals with various aspects not covered by the previous instruments: repatriation, recruitment, on-board medical care, occupational health and safety, social protection, compliance and enforcement.
Today, the main challenge for the future of fisheries is to provide the prospect of safe and decent working conditions in small-scale fisheries to avoid, as is too often the case today, fishermen are being victims of accidents at sea or carrying out their activities on board in poor conditions.
This was recalled in the call to action that was launched by small-scale fisheries stakeholders from six continents on the occasion of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.
The signature by African countries and the implementation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 188 in artisanal fisheries will improve the safety at sea of artisanal fishermen.
Currently, Senegal, Morocco, Congo, Angola, Namibia and South Africa are the African countries that have ratified ILO Convention 188 on working conditions in the fishing sector.
Countries that ratify the Convention must develop laws, regulations or other measures that address a range of issues that are essential to promote safe and decent working conditions in small-scale fisheries.
The Convention provides for a progressive implementation in order to give some countries the possibility to take more time to apply certain provisions for certain types of vessels. This provision is useful for artisanal fisheries where many activities are still informal. This phased-in approach should facilitate ratification by African countries as it takes into account their difficulties in meeting all the obligations of the Convention due to inadequate infrastructure and institutions.
Other partners of our countries, sensitive to this aspect of working conditions at sea for artisanal fisheries, such as FAO, European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, should also be involved in promoting the ratification and implementation of this convention, for the benefit of African artisanal fisheries in particular.
This workshop is taking place in the context of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), whose objective is to “promote artisanal fisheries and aquaculture”.
This workshop targets artisanal fisheries professionals, parliamentarians, the fisheries administration, civil society, international, regional and sub-regional fisheries institutions, the ILO, FAO, EU, AU, etc.
Specifically, the workshop will “examine the needs of African artisanal fisheries in relation to the relevant issues raised by Convention C188. This will involve :
- Setting a minimum age for boarding;
- Organizing a medical examination ;
- The development of the crew list ;
- Conditions for the repatriation of fishermen ;
- Recruitment requirements ;
- Sanitary conditions on board ;
- Safety conditions on board ;
- The provision of food and drinking water on board ;
- Training of crew member(s) to provide first aid on board;
- Prevention of occupational accidents, diseases and work-related risks on board ;
- The progressive provision of social security protection for fishermen and their families.
CAOPA proposes a series of concrete measures to be supported, including the training of canoes captains, decent working conditions, the use of new technologies (geolocation, etc.), and the awareness-raising of fishermen to safety issues on board.
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Aliou DIALLO