Workshop on Strategic Compliance Planning on Namibia’s Fishing Sector
Namibia ratified ILO’s Work in the Fishing Convention, 2007 (No.188) in 2018. The Convention entered into force on 20 September 2019. A three-day workshop on ‘strategic compliance planning in the fisheries sector was held to establish a coordination mechanism as per Article 7 of the Convention.
(ILO NEWS, Windhoek) Namibia ratified ILO’s Work in the Fishing Convention, 2007 (No.188) in 2018. The Convention entered into force for Namibia on 20 September 2019. The Government of Namibia is committed to addressing key issues such as minimum age for work on a fishing vessel, medical standards, work agreements, occupational safety and health, and social security through ongoing labour law reforms.
According to Article 7 of Convention No.188, the Government shall establish mechanisms for coordination among relevant authorities for the fishing sector at the national and local levels, as appropriate, and define their functions and responsibilities, considering their complementarities and national conditions and practice.
The Participants
The Sustainable Supply Chains to Build Forward Better Project organized a three-day workshop on strategic compliance planning in the fishing sector with the aim of establishing a coordination mechanism as per Article 7 of the Convention, as well as to support the key stakeholder to efficiently plan and execute labour inspection activities within their mandate.
Some of the steps taken by the workshop to establish the mechanism included improving the participants' ability to apply a strategic compliance planning methodology to the fishing sector. More specifically, this included guidance on the development of a strategic compliance plan, identification of existing tools for data management, and development of an inspection strategy to ensure sustained compliance.
At the end of the workshop, the participants created a Strategic Compliance Taskforce, which comprises twelve members from Government, workers’, and employers’ organizations. The Taskforce is set out to soon conduct a joint pilot labour inspection targeting pelagic, snoek, and crab fisheries supply chain aboard three vessels. This will include all three critical stakeholders - labour inspectors, fisheries inspectors, and maritime surveyors.
The workshop brought together all stakeholders in the fishing sector such as Ministry of Labour Industrial Relations and Employment Creation (Directorate of Labour Services), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (Directorate of Operations), Ministry of Works and Transport (Department of Maritime Affairs), Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), Namibia Seaman and Allied Workers Union (NASAWU), Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU), National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) and Confederation of Namibia Fishing Associations( CNFA).
According to Article 7 of Convention No.188, the Government shall establish mechanisms for coordination among relevant authorities for the fishing sector at the national and local levels, as appropriate, and define their functions and responsibilities, considering their complementarities and national conditions and practice.
The Sustainable Supply Chains to Build Forward Better Project organized a three-day workshop on strategic compliance planning in the fishing sector with the aim of establishing a coordination mechanism as per Article 7 of the Convention, as well as to support the key stakeholder to efficiently plan and execute labour inspection activities within their mandate.
Some of the steps taken by the workshop to establish the mechanism included improving the participants' ability to apply a strategic compliance planning methodology to the fishing sector. More specifically, this included guidance on the development of a strategic compliance plan, identification of existing tools for data management, and development of an inspection strategy to ensure sustained compliance.
At the end of the workshop, the participants created a Strategic Compliance Taskforce, which comprises twelve members from Government, workers’, and employers’ organizations. The Taskforce is set out to soon conduct a joint pilot labour inspection targeting pelagic, snoek, and crab fisheries supply chain aboard three vessels. This will include all three critical stakeholders - labour inspectors, fisheries inspectors, and maritime surveyors.
The workshop brought together all stakeholders in the fishing sector such as Ministry of Labour Industrial Relations and Employment Creation (Directorate of Labour Services), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (Directorate of Operations), Ministry of Works and Transport (Department of Maritime Affairs), Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), Namibia Seaman and Allied Workers Union (NASAWU), Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU), National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) and Confederation of Namibia Fishing Associations( CNFA).