Tema-Ghana, Sept. 23, – The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), has held a day-long sensitization workshop for vessel owners and stakeholders in the fishery sector.
Speaking to the media in Tema, Mr. Kwabena Boakye Boampong, GMA Director, Maritime Services Division, stated that the sensitization workshop was a strategic approach devised by the Authority to sensitize vessel owners within the fishing sector on how to ensure adequate security on shore.
Mr. Boampong hinted that the welfare, which included the living and working conditions of stakeholders within the fishery sector, remained paramount to the GMA, hence the need to collaborate with the International Labour Organization for the sensitization workshop.
According to him, gone were the days when fishing vessel owners did not pay much attention to the safety of their vessels, which resulted in some preventable accidents.
Mr. Boampong further added that the GMA had implemented recommendations proposed by the tripertite committee to ensure that fishermen working on Ghanaian vessels were safe at all times, especially when on shore.
He said the GMA had ensured that vessel owners met international standards to merit a certificate to operate on Ghanaian shores.
The GMA Director of Maritime Services called on the various stakeholders to assist in ensuring the right measures were enforced to improve safety on board the vessels for the fishing expeditions.
Mr. Emmanuel Kwame Mensah, ILO National Programme Coordinator, stated that it was the duty of the ILO to ensure there was a cordial relationship between fishers and their vessel owners.
Mr. Mensah further noted that their operations were also guided by the Ghana Fishing Act and other relevant fishing laws that regulate the activities of the fishery industry.
He noted that globally, over 128,000 fishers are trapped in forced labour, adding that there should be a social dialogue between employers and employees in the fishing sector to eliminate the use of forced labour.
He explained that every worker has the right to belong to a union, stressing that the ILO exists to ensure forced labour in whatever form is avoided.
Mr. Mensah again stated that the ILO works through conventions, saying Convention 188 provides the internationally acceptable standard in the marine and fishing sectors to ensure people’s fundamental rights are not infringed upon.
He said the marine environment is hazardous as compared to other sectors, hence the need to ensure strict compliance with the directives.
On Wednesday, the various stakeholders within the fishing sector converged at the National Fishers Association of Ghana Hall in Tema for the sensitization forum.
