• Workers on docked ships have certification recognised internationally by the maritime industry
• However, their claim to being seafarers is disowned by the Kenya Maritime Authority
Image: MBARUKU MOHAMMED
According to the Kenya Maritime Authority, casual labourers employed by private ship contractors are not recognised as ‘seafarers’ but as shore-based workers.
In a separate statement issued to the Star towards the end of last year, the regulator held that shore-based workers are not covered by the Maritime Labour Convention and the Merchant Shipping Act, Cap 389.
“The maritime labour convention covers only seafarers working onboard ocean-going ships,” the KMA said.
“Shore-based workers are currently covered by the general wages order under the Ministry of Labour.”
But the Seafarers Union of Kenya disagrees. According to the Union, the labourers are essentially seafarers based on the nature of work they do.
The only difference is that they are employed as casuals, they argue.
SUK chairman Daudi Haji explained that this lot is often pushed to resort to casual work to eke out a living due to scarcity of ocean-going seafaring work.
He added that some of the workers, such as those engaged in security services and lashing and unlashing of containers, are qualified seafarers with certification recognised internationally by the maritime industry.
“Anyone who works onboard a vessel, whether oceangoing or as shore-based, is a seafarer. These people only do the port-based work as a fallback plan because they have to survive at the end of the day,” Haji said.
He acknowledged that issues related to their wages fall under the Ministry of Labour, but added that KMA also ought to play a regulatory role in ensuring compliance because the affairs of the shipping industry fall squarely under its mandate.
On the question of occupational hazards faced by the labourers, the maritime regulator distanced itself from responsibility, stating that the safety of port workers is the domain of the state's Department of Occupation Safety and Health (Dosh).
“If the authority receives an accident report involving port workers, the authority brings the report to the attention of Dosh for further investigation,” it said.
“The International Labour Organisation takes cognisance of the responsibility of Dosh on accidents that happen in workplaces such as ports and vessels,” they further stated.
SUK, however, says KMA should not entirely escape responsibility on such matters.
Haji says many ships docking at the port are flag-state vessels, meaning they are ships registered under foreign jurisdictions. Therefore, should an accident happen, it is technically considered to have occurred on foreign soil.
It is in this light the union argues that only KMA has the powers to stamp its authority since it also has an international scope in its mandate.
“Neither the Ministry of Labour nor the KPA, for instance, can order for the seizure of a ship. Only KMA can do that,” he said.