Grant Agreement Project 101051878
External contractor: Development of a training programme for the medical examination of fishers

Background
Sea fishing is a remote and challenging professional activity. The International Maritime Organization Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (IMO STCW-F) and the International Labour Organization Convention Work in Fishing (ILO C188) are the most relevant instruments in regard to working conditions and occupational health of fishers. According to article 10 of the ILO C188, no fisherman shall work on board a fishing vessel without a valid medical certificate. However, in contrast with merchant seafarers who are covered by the joint ILO/IMO guidelines on medical examination, no specific guidelines for the medical examination of fishers existed.

Therefore, in the previous project ‘Pillars of the Sea 2: Project implementing part of the SSDC Work Programme’ (VS/2019/0013), the Social Partners for Sea Fisheries have together with the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) developed appropriate criteria for the medical fitness for fishers within the EU to harmonise the existing systems of medical examinations of fishers within the Member States.

These Guidelines, published in 20211 , also suggest additional requirements in the competences of the medical practitioners to contribute towards the harmonisation of standards for the medical examinations of fishers and to improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care provided for fishers. There is evidence that fishers often operate under stressful working conditions, long workhours, lack of good sleep, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical exercises, that contributes to fatigue, impaired well-being, mental ill-health, stress, and chronic diseases. As the medical practitioners may not be trained in health and safety prevention in fishing, it is recommended that the competent authorities develop a training programme to comply with the requirements, as evidently the competency of authorised medical practitioners is of crucial importance to the fishing industry.

Such requirements include initial training when first authorised and continuing training in the specific occupational health risk for fishers and the notification of diseases and injuries that may be identified as part of the medical examination to ensure ongoing knowledge and competency.

As a continuation of the guidelines on examination, the Social Partners aim to develop this training programme for authorised medical practitioners performing the medical examination of fishers and issuing medical certificates. It is essential that training can be given via guidance which fit the specificities of sea fishers. The medical practitioners should be experienced in general and occupational medicine, and in the fisher’s occupational health risks and prevention. Additionally, they should have knowledge of the living and working conditions on board fishing vessels, the job demands on board and in the harbour, such as unloading the catch and work in port in so far they relate to the effects of health. Their competency is of crucial importance to the fishing industry as authorised medical practitioners who perform medical examinations of fishers may also perform occupational health examinations.

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Pillars of the Sea 2: project implementing part of the SSDC Work Programme
Grant agreement VP/2018/001/0042

External contractor: Creation of a new app FisherieSpeak

Background
Social Partners created the ‘Fishery Speak’ app as part of the project ‘Towards a true socially sustainable EU Fishery: the contribution of EU social partners’ (VS/2015/0042).

It is an interactive glossary, aimed at improving on board safety as well as navigation security. It provides an overview of the main phrases used on board in relation to safety procedures. Since releasing the app, Social Partners observed that certain upgrades would make it more useful. The aim of this upgrade is therefore to add i.a. translation functionality and speech recognition. The Pillar aims at improving fishers’ knowledge and skills, it is therefore of special interest of the call. Since it was unworkable to update the existing application, the social partners decided, with the greenlight of the Commission, to create a new one.

Purpose of the contract
The contract is aimed at creating a new application “FisherieSpeak” for iOS and Android smartphone.

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Grant agreement N°VP/2016/001/0047

Pillar 3: Survey on the legislation in force regarding deck machinery, engine rooms and fishing gears

Background
A study carried out at national level in Spain by the National Institute for safety and hygiene in the work place, has revealed the absence of legislation applicable mainly to the deck machinery, engine rooms and fishing gears at two different levels: commercialization on the one hand, installation and use on board on the other hand. Fishing vessels are excluded of most regulations dealing with these machines (cranes, fishing reels, auxiliary winch prow, etc.) installed on vessels or on land. Considering the high number of accidents in the sector, and after analysing this study, the European social partners of the fishing sector consider it of outmost importance to carry out a survey at EU level to study the national legislations in force and try to reach recommendations for a standardisation of the rules in terms of commercialization, installation and safe use on board.

Purpose of the contract
The contract is aimed at producing a survey providing an overview on the different Member States laws and rules applicable to the commercialisation, installation and use of deck machinery, engine room machinery and fishing gears as well as proposing recommendations for the standardisation of the rules.

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Grant agreement VS/2015/0042

Pillar 1: Raise awareness amongst national-level social partners about the possibilities offered by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to support social dialogue in fisheries and improvement of working and living conditions

Background
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform process has been recently completed with the adoption, in April 2014 of the new financial instrument for the sector, the EMFF1 . Also thanks to the requests made by social partners to the European Commission and Parliament, the EMFF presents an improved social dimension, compared to the previous fund, the EFF. The regulation gives member states the opportunity to include in their operational plans the financing of measures to support social dialogue at European, national, regional or local level, to improve working conditions and to support professional training.

The inclusion of these elements amongst the actions that can be financed represents for social partners an important opportunity to tackle issues that have been central in their action over the past years. Over the last decades the ETF and Europêche have carried out two EU co-funded projects as well as other activities to try to support capacity building for social partners in the fisheries sector in those member states where their representation is poor. The lack of proper workers’ and employers’ representation is mainly due to the lack of resources and the drastic reduction of the fleet that hit many countries over the last decades. Notwithstanding EU-level social partners’ attempts to involve national administrations in their initiatives to build capacity at national level, most of the countries have not shown a proper commitment to support social dialogue in the sea fishing sector.

For these reasons, it is crucial, at this stage, to make sure that social partners at national and local level are made aware of the possibilities offered by the EMFF. Over the coming months, social partners will

Regulation (EU) No 508/2014
work jointly with their national affiliates to make sure that member states’ operational plans include the support to social dialogue, training and improvement of on board working and living conditions.

Against this background, the aims of this action are:

• Gather and analyse Member States’ operational plans and provide social partners with an overview of the measures that can be financed in relation with promotion of social dialogue and working conditions;
• Raise awareness amongst their member organisations as well as to other social partners’ organisations not represented at EU level about the possibilities offered by the EMFF;
• Produce a manual that can be used by social partners during the EMFF programming period.

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Grant agreement VS/2015/0042
Pillar 2: Glossary for the safe navigation and operation of fishing vessels in different languages

Background
Fisheries is one of the most internationalised sectors and the crews working on-board EU fishing vessels are more and more made of nationals from different countries. This is particularly true for EU vessels fishing in third countries’ waters through fishing agreements between the EU and third countries or through other arrangements. Very often the lack of a common language can create problems, especially as far as security and safety are concerned. Social partners believe that training should be the first and foremost instrument to fill this gap, and that proper training should be compulsory for all those working on board fishing vessels. At the same time, some concrete initiatives could help tackling the communications problems that occur when people speaking different languages work on the same vessels.

For this reason, social partners have applied for EU funding to produce, publish and disseminate a translation booklet for fishing vessels’ crews. Similar glossaries already exist for maritime transport and inland waterways and would be used as a starting basis for compiling the one on fisheries.

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Background
Fishermen working on fishing vessels flying the flag of a European Union Member State might be employed or self-employed. It is not always clear whether or not an EU legislative instrument covers self-employed fishermen. In view of this the SSDC-F seeks clarification. In order to be in a position to do its work properly the SSDC-F needs to gather additional information on a number of issues:

i. clarify the meaning of the terms ‘employee’ and ‘worker’ within the ‘acquis communautaire’ in order to find out when self-employed persons are considered employees/workers;

ii. have an overview of EU ‘social’ legislative instruments which apply to employees/workers as defined within the ‘acquis communautaire’ (indicating those instruments which exclude fishermen from their scope entirely or partially);

iii. have an overview of EU ‘social’ legislative instruments which apply to employees/workers as defined by the individual Member States (indicating those instruments which exclude fishermen from their scope entirely or partially);

iv. have an overview per EU Member State of the number of employed fishermen and the number of self-employed fishermen.

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