Chris Gilili reports in Elitsha that COSATU held a protest on Wednesday outside Sea Harvest Corporation offices at Cape Town’s Waterfront. Here are the highlights of the story:
- This protest was about an incident on 19 May 2024 when a fishing trawler owned by Sea Harvest sank 30 nautical miles off Hout Bay. The 11 fishermen on board are presumed drowned and the search was called off by the following Sunday. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) is investigating.
- COSATU members protested, chanting slogans and holding placards reading, “Stop the neglect: Fishermen deserve protection” and “11 workers lost at sea / Families deserve justice.”
- Malvern de Bruyn, COSATU Western Cape Secretary General, expressed disappointment in Sea Harvest’s safety measure and emphasised the need for companies to ensure health and safety measures for offshore workers. He criticised Sea Harvest’s failure to recover missing bodies, stressing the families’ need for closure.
- The COSATU Memorandum of Demands to Sea Harvest highlighted:
- Uncertainty about the cause of the sinking.
- Rasied questions about the availability of life jackets on the vessel.
- Emphasized the need for periodic medical fitness exams for fishers.
- Called for set standards for live-in accommodation and food on board.
- Demanded freedom of association, fair labour practices, and respect for collective bargaining in the fishing sector.
- COSATU shared the hazardous working conditions for fishers, noting a higher fatality (death at work) rates compared to other sectors, and health problems.
- SACP’s Phumzile Justice Mnguni condemned the treatment of black labour and demanded accountability for the 11 missing fishermen.
- Sea Harvest responded by refusing to accept the memorandum, which was left at their doorstep, claiming that they adhere to a robust maintenance and service regime. COSATU issued a threat of further protests if there is no response to the Memorandum of Demands within 14 days.
- Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy visited Sea Harvest, leading to a company statement about their maintenance system.
11 crew members disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean after a fishing trawler sank about 34 nautical miles from Hout Bay. The search and rescue of the workers was suspended after 3 days.
