爭取權利：棄船個案破紀錄之年ITF檢查員成海員最強後盾/Fighting for rights: ITF inspectors stand strong for seafarers in record-breaking year of shame
2023年是海員被遺棄問題最嚴重的一年，年內ITF檢查員追回拖欠工資近6000萬美元。
2023 was the worst year ever seen for seafarer abandonment – and ITF inspectors recovered nearly US$60 million in unpaid wages.
2023年，ITF全球檢查員網路成功為遭拖欠工資的海員追回57,161,779 美元(折約445,861,876港元)，金額之高令人震驚。同時，ITF亦錄得有史以來最高的遺棄船舶數字（共129 艘）和遭遺棄的海員（共1,983 名）。
The ITF’s global network of inspectors recovered a shocking US$57,161,779 in unpaid wages for seafarers in 2023, as the ITF also recorded the highest level it has ever seen of abandoned vessels (129) and abandoned seafarers (1,983).
檢查員於年內共完成9,530次船舶檢查，處理1,188宗案件（包括檢查員在不登船的情況下協助海員），遍及世界各個地區。
The inspectors completed a total of 9,530 ship inspections and worked on 1,188 cases – instances where an inspector assisted a seafarer without boarding a vessel – during the year, spanning every region of the world.
負責協調ITF 檢查員的Steve Trowsdale 表示：「案件數量和欠薪金額令人擔憂，但我們對世界各地的檢查員每天所做的工作感到非常自豪。他們為海員提供緊急服務，隨時準備盡其所能維護海員權利，並追究船東剝削海員的責任。
ITF Inspectorate Coordinator Steve Trowsdale said: “The number of cases and amount of backpay is worrying, but we couldn’t be prouder of the work undertaken by our inspectors every day, all around the world. They’re an emergency service for seafarers, always ready to do what they can to stand up for seafarers’ rights and hold exploitative shipowners to account.
「但可悲的現實是，檢查員的工作量越來越多，表明目前船上工人的權利受到了越來越嚴重的侵犯。」
“But the sad reality is that the increasing amount of work our inspectors are doing demonstrates just how much workers’ rights are under attack on ships right now.”
ITF超過 125 名檢查員組成的全球網路分佈在全球 55 個國家的 110 多個港口。檢查員（其中許多人曾是海員或碼頭工人）負責監管沒有集體談判協定的船舶，並在持有集體談判協定的船舶上，確保有執行相關協定，這些協定覆蓋了在方便旗船上工作的超過357,000 名海員。
The ITF has a global network of more than 125 inspectors, based in over 110 ports in 55 countries worldwide. Inspectors, many of whom are former seafarers or dockers, police ships that have no collective bargaining agreement and enforce the agreements on ships that do, with those agreements covering more than 357,000 seafarers working aboard flag of convenience vessels.
檢查員接受過培訓，負責揭發海員被剝削、過度勞累，尋找任何海員遭強迫勞動和淪現代奴隸的跡象。在許多船上，他們有權檢查海員工資帳戶、雇傭合約，並審查其工作和休息時間的記錄。
Inspectors are trained to look for exploitation, overwork, and signs of forced labour and modern slavery. On many vessels, they have the right to examine wage accounts, employment contracts, and to review recorded hours of work and rest.
特羅斯代爾表示：「追回拖欠工資超過 5710 萬美元的重要性不容低估，特別是當這麼多海員是他們家庭的經濟支柱。」
“The significance of clawing back more than US$57.1 million in owed wages can’t be understated, especially when so many seafarers are the breadwinners for their families back home,” said Trowsdale.
「我們的檢查員每天都在發出這樣的資訊：ITF 及其附屬工會絕不會放過任何侵犯海員權利的行為，讓它們瞞天過海。」
“Our inspectors are out there every day sending the message that the ITF and its affiliated unions will never let abuses of seafarers’ rights go unchecked.”
根據國際勞工組織（ILO）對遺棄的定義，當海員兩個月沒有取得工資時，他們就可被歸類為「被遺棄」。
Under the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) definition of abandonment, a seafarer can be classed as ‘abandoned’ when they are unpaid for two months.
任何不支付工資的行為，都應被視為船東可能即將裁減船員的潛在跡象。
Any non-payment of wages should be seen as a potential sign that a shipowner could be about to cut its crew loose.
资料来源: https://www.itfseafarers.org/en/news/fighting-rights-itf-inspectors-stand-strong-seafarers-record-breaking-year-shame
