LONG LIVE MAY 1!

MARINE WORKERS ARE STRONG TOGETHER!

The sea that unites us, regardless of the geographies, grows the resistance of us, sea workers, in waves! It resonates like an international song from South America to Europe, from the Far East to Africa. May 1, which started in 1886 with the demand to work "8 hours a day" humanely, is not a holiday but the day of resistance we resisted for our bread.

Today, those who ban May 1 under the pretext of Covid-19 continue to make us, maritime workers, work in the time of a pandemic and safety restrictions! They neither prioritize vaccines nor provides support packages against the economic crisis. From ship crew to dockworkers, from dockyard workers to divers, workers are forced to always put up with the consequences of the crisis.  We, the seafarers, who have been regarded as "key workers" since the beginning of the pandemic, continue to suffer from massive exploitation while shipowners built new ships. We are abandoned by shipowners and states. Neither IMO nor ILO rules hinder the exploit in our labor. We can't get our salaries. The necessary health and safety conditions are not provided for the workers. We are attacked by pirates. We are kidnapped. We are always a sufferer by the war of the states. We get injured. We are caught in epidemic diseases. We are drowning, burning, out of breath, and die!

We neither forgot the Reina 1 crew nor the Bilal Bal crew, neither the Candy and Maestro crew nor the Mozart crew.

And many more we gave to the sea ...

Now is the time to display the flag of rebellion. We must organize and grow the sea resistance altogether. Working in a good company, on a good ship, does not guarantee your life. There are hundreds of resisting seafarers to rights abuses like Sailors on a hunger strike on the MV ULA Ship, like the sailors resisting for their salaries on the 6 ships abandoned by Palmali Shipping in the heart of Istanbul. There is no guarantee that we will not be abandoned one day. We have no choice but to be organized.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

The Seafarers Resisting Will Win


the PLATFORM OF THE SEA WORKERS