ILO

ILO welcomes seafarers' rights agreement amid pandemic

Hundreds of thousands of seafarers, including Pacific Islanders, have been trapped for months on ships across the globe due to ongoing travel restrictions.

The ILO has welcomed a joint statement signed by more than a dozen countries that gives seafarers enhanced rights as key workers.

The new measures, also supported by other UN agencies and international organizations, enable seafarers to be repatriated and move more freely during the pandemic.

'Bleak picture' for Pacific workers and employers, says International Labour Organisation

Tens of thousands of Pacific workers have already either lost their jobs or were on reduced hours.

Elena Gerasimova, from the ILO's Pacific office, said the organisation received requests for support from workers, employers and small to medium businesses.

"There are lots of complications, problems and challenges for workers, employers and governments because there is a serious, very serious impact of the Covid-19 on their employment and on economies.

"Lots of companies are closed while many companies may become bankrupt and people are losing their jobs."

ILO warns Vanuatu tax reforms could hurt vulnerable

There's already widespread opposition in Vanuatu for the new tax plan which aims to introduce among other things income tax and corporate tax by July next year.

RNZI reports the ILO's regional wage expert Daniel Kostzer said a recently released review of the proposed tax plan shows government had done a lot more consultations on the proposed reforms but it had failed to take most of the concerns raised into consideration.