Brussels, 13/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European social partners in the fisheries sector acknowledge that progress has been made in a number of areas in the draft regulation on the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMMF), but ask for greater ambition to be shown in measures to restructure the fleet and improve health and safety on board vessels.
In an opinion published on 10 April on the social dimension of the EMMF (funding for the period from 2014 to 2020), the Committee on Social Sectoral Dialogue for Maritime Fisheries (CSSDMF) acknowledges effort made by the Commission to include promotion of human capital and social dialogue, job creation and health and safety on board vessels amongst the actions that could be co-financed through the future EMFF. “Reinforcing the social dimension of the CFP represents, in the European Social Partners' views, a step in the right direction.”
However, the proposal contains some inaccuracies which should be corrected, the social partners say. First of all, the CSSDMF would like to see Article 31.1.c reformulated so as to make clear that social dialogue is a process that takes place between social partners, i.e. employers' and workers' organisations. Moreover, that the European organisations in the fisheries sector - Europêche, Cogeca and ETF - are representative has been confirmed by a recent study carried out by Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions). The CSSDMF says that it should be specified that the lack of adequate social dialogue affecting the fisheries sector in certain EU member states “does not affect specifically small-scale fisheries”. The lack of social dialogue at national and local levels is mainly due to the fact that social partners are “poorly organised in some member states”. There is, therefore, scarce incentive for workers and employers to invest in the creation organisations and permanent structures representing their interests. “Such elements should be kept in mind when proposing measures to promote social dialogue.”
European social partners recognise that the possibility to co-finance investments to improve health and safety is a positive development. However, they believe that the limit set by the proposal for a regulation of one investment on board during the programming period is “too restrictive”. The EU fleet, the CSSDMF points out, is made up mainly of old vessels, many of which need significant investments in order to comply with basic safety rules. “One investment over a seven-year period will not contribute substantially to making fishing boats safer, neither the image of the sector better.” The significant developments in research on innovative safety devices and their use should be encouraged by the EMFF. In addition, improvement of on board safety requires other action and initiatives (exchange of information between different member states, for example, on their risk assessment systems, seminars, awareness campaigns targeting fishermen, studies, research, etc), the social partners suggest.
As for the particular issue of the image of the sector, it would, the CSSDMF says, be “appropriate” to plan the co-financing by the EMFF of EU-wide actions, taking into account the need for coordination in terms of preparation of European or transnational communication campaigns. Moreover, it would be advisable to support the co-financing of European actions carried out by the European organisations of the sector, especially information seminars on the development of the CFP, which would allow the social partners to better understand the legislation, to promote the enforcement of rules and make the best possible use of funds.
The focus on sustainable development of fisheries areas and on local communities is a positive step, in the CSSDMF's view. However, it also strongly recommends initiatives to foster job creation in the sector, particularly for young workers, and maintaining aid to the modernisation of vessels “in order to avoid that they undergo an ageing process which is likely to have an adverse effect on the safety of people on board, and further undermine young people's interest in the fishing profession”. The social partners are alarmed at the lack of provisions in the EMFF on co-financing aid measures for temporary cessation (biological closures) of fishing activities for fishermen and the owners of fishing vessels. The CSSDMF says, too, that the proposal should also provide for the co-financing of aid measures for the re-training of those fishermen forced to leave the industry as a result of the reduction of the fishing fleet. (LC/transl.rt)