On Tuesday, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation deliberated to recognize the International Transport Workers ' Federation (ITF), the international trade union of transport workers, as an unwanted organization on the territory of the Russian Federation. Specifying that the decision was taken on the basis of the results of an investigation, the Prosecution specified that, " with the start of the special military operation, the leaders of this organization, citizens of Great Britain and Australia, have issued harsh anti-Russian statements, openly condemning the conduct. It has been established, in the statement of the Office of the Attorney General, that since 2022, one of the main guidelines of the organization's work has been to promote the introduction in the maximum number of nations, following the example of Great Britain, the ban on entry into their seaports of ships registered in our country or chartered to Russian companies, as well as those flying the Russian flag. "

"On the initiative of the Port Workers Section, which is part of its structure in foreign ports, controlled unions have blocked the discharge of Russian ships that were docking in it," the statement said. With the justification of solidarity with the Ukrainian transport workers, the organization is conducting a campaign to raise funds to be sent back to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Special Military Operation, more than 500mila US dollars have been transferred to various facilities controlled by Kiev. Using media resources, the organization systematically inserts politicized publications into the information space, defining a negative image of Russia abroad. Therefore, the international non-governmental organisation International Transport Workers ' Federation is posing a threat to the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, " the statement said.

The ITF has rejected the allegation by pointing out that the International Transport Workers ' Federation " is a global, democratic, and affiliated trade union federation. We exist to safeguard and improve the lives of workers, " the ITF said in a statement. The ITF has offices in London, Abidjan, Amman, Brussels, Geneva, Hong Kong, Montreal, Nairobi, New Delhi, Panama City, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo, with associates all over the world. Our mission and activities in Russia, and in the world, are to support and promote the rights of transport workers. "

" This designation-warns the ITF-will have significant consequences for the 1.65 million Russian transport workers affiliated with the ITF since this designation was announced, and in particular for the Russian quasi-200mila seafarers, a significant portion of which navigate on ships covered by collective agreements approved by the ITF. The ITF-recalls the trade union federation-has continued to support Russian seafarers throughout the war, not only the many seafarers who benefit daily from the protections guaranteed by the ITF agreements, but also those who have sought and received assistance from the ITF in the recovery of the millions owed for wages and for the repatriation of abandoned seafarers. Since January 2022, 11,405 Russian seafarers were on board the ships that the ITF inspected with the ITF inspectors who recovered nearly four million dollars of wages owed on such ships. The ITF continues to treat Russian seafarers like any other seafarer who seeks our assistance and support, " the statement said.

"The ITF insists on its call for peace and at the end of the Russian military operation in Ukraine," the statement said. Throughout the war, we have stood firm in solidarity with all the workers involved in this conflict. We continue to call for a just and sustainable peace based on international human rights and humanitarian law. The ITF Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian transport workers and their families has been used exclusively for humanitarian purposes, with funds provided to independent affiliated unions and charities of the maritime. We continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, Russia and neighboring countries who call for peace, dialogue and diplomacy "

That the decision by the Prosecutor General's Office has consequences for the same transport workers as Russia and their representatives confirm it several reactions to the measure by unions in the sector, including the Union. Russo of the Portuals (RPD) who expressed "surprise" for the deliberation that defines the unwanted organization the ITF, to which RPD is affiliated. "The RPD does not have information on the facts that underlie the recognition of the activities of the ITF as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation," the Russian trade union said in a statement. In recent years, effectively, the RPD did not participate in the events and activities of the ITF, the RPD did not participate in the discussion and decision making process that served as a basis for recognizing ITF's activities as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation and since the beginning of the Special Military Operation, in 2022, it does not pay the associative quotas to the International Transport Workers ' Federation. Following the recognition by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation of the ITF's activities as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation-laconically concludes the communique-the RPD will conduct consultations and send relevant requests to all organizations concerned. The issue of the accession of the Russian Trade Union of the Portuals to the ITF will be examined by the RPD Council, in accordance with the Statute of the RPD, after consulting with all the organizations concerned. "

For the Russian Maritime Union (RPSM), the General Prosecution Service's decision represents "a major blow to its own citizens." In statements issued to the Russian business daily "Kommersant", the representatives of the RPSM have pointed out that for many years the ITF has been helping the sailors of the Russian Federation to solve their problems, in particular, organized their own re-entry at home during the pandemic.

If the Russian port union has been more watchful in assessing the General Prosecutor's decision, that of the Russian seafarers is explicitly adverse to the deliberation by denying that the ITF has contributed to the imposition of the ban on entry of the Russian ships in foreign ports. In particular, the RPSM expressly maintained that there were no such cases and that, on the contrary, the ITF did not agree with the request of the Ukrainian unions to exclude the Russians from the international organization.

"Currently-recalled the president of the RPSM, Yury Sukhorukov, to" Kommersant "-more than 198mila Russian seafarers are employed in maritime transport and work mainly under collective agreements that comply with the ITF standard. Anyone, I stress anyone!, starting with the velist, "he said," knows first what the ITF is. In many cases, this is the only authority at which a Russian sailor can actually get help. This applies to the recovery of unpaid wages, for legal proceedings to safeguard the rights and, in some cases, for the supply of food. The ITF employs about 180 inspectors in almost all the "maritime" countries in the world, who come from our sailors, collect their wages and arrange repatriation. It is difficult to overestimate what the ITF, with our help, did during the pandemic in terms of the repatriation of Russian sailors. "

Referring to the allegations about the anti-Russian activities of the ITF, the RPSM president specified that they are absolutely false : "we are not aware of them-" Sukhorukov told "Kommersant"-of cases in which Russian ships were boycotted on request of the ITF in relation to the Special Military Operation. On the contrary, the ITF leadership did not expel the Russian transport unions from the organization, although the Ukrainian trade unions have persistently requested it. The position of the ITF has always been very balanced : neither the secretary-general nor the president of the syndicate has ever spoken publicly negatively about Russia. And the accession of the Russian organizations to the international federations of transport workers has been absolutely maintained. "

Referring to the fact that, after the decision of the General Prosecutor, any cooperation with the ITF carries a serious criminal responsibility, Sukhorukov noted that, " formally, this means that a seaport who is in a situation difficult and enrolling at the ITF automatically becomes a criminal. A message on the "undesirability" of the ITF will surely provoked outrage among Russian seafarers. "

The "Kommersant" article specifies that the seafarers ' union intends to call for the annulment of the decision of the General Prosecution, while the Ministry of Transport has not commented on the situation.