The Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), an affiliate of the National Union of Teamsters and General Workers (NUTEG of GFL), a trade union organization, has received life jackets from NUTEG for onward distribution to selected artisanal fishers across the four coastal regions of Ghana.
The life jackets come as a donation from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and were funded by the Union Building Project in support of efforts by NUTEG and CaFGOAG towards promoting safety at sea in Ghana’s artisanal fisheries.
At a meeting to make the presentation, Mr. Cedric Depollier, the Union Building Project Manager, accompanied by Mr. Malick Diop, Coordinator of ITF/LO Norway West Africa Fisheries Organizing Project (WAFOP), commended NUTEG and CaFGOAG for all their efforts in promoting safety at sea in artisanal fisheries. He urged fishers not to accept accidents at sea as the norm but to ensure that adequate structures and measures are put in place to protect the lives of fishers and their properties.
He emphasized the importance of the meeting, which is expected to bring the Union Building Project closer to stakeholders through NUTEG and CaFGOAG, and for the project to support solutions to the harsh reality of artisanal fishers working hard in very difficult conditions, sometimes risking their lives to earn a living and support their communities.
He entreated the leadership of NUTEG to give attention to insurance and social security for artisanal fishers.
Mr. Malick Diop, in his remarks, charged NUTEG and CaFGOAG to help fishers understand the content of the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention (C118) and work towards its ratification.
The General Secretary of NUTEG, Mr. Desmond Sackey, expressed appreciation to ITF for honoring their request and gave assurance that NUTEG will monitor to ensure that the life jackets are put to good use. He urged CaFGOAG to finalize the list and distribute the jackets before the end of the year.
The Deputy General Secretary of NUTEG, Mr. Ebenezer Osabutey, indicated that NUTEG will work hand in hand with CaFGOAG to implement the project for the benefits of artisanal fishers.
The National President of CaFGOAG, Nana Kweigyah, who received the life jackets in the company of other executives, thanked NUTEG and ITF and their partners for coming to the aid of artisanal fishers. He underscored the significance of the donation, which he said will deepen awareness about safety at sea among artisanal fishers and support ongoing efforts to protect the lives of fishers in the course of fishing.
He assured NUTEG, ITF, and the partners that CaFGOAG will ensure that the life jackets benefit fishers and their communities and appealed to ITF and the partners for more safety gears, capacity-building training programs, and awareness creation to support fishers since the fisher population in Ghana is huge.
He further reiterated CaFGOAG’s call for a national dialogue on safety at sea in artisanal fisheries and the need for safety at sea in artisanal fisheries to be an integral part of fisheries management, as enshrined in the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication.
