zoomImage Courtesy: Danny Cornelissen/Nautilus International

The International Transport Workers’ Federation has decided to provide support to its Dutch affiliate Nautilus NL/FNV Waterbouw in the fights to stop maritime and energy company Boskalis from letting go “skilled seafarers and downgrading the quality of jobs,” ITF said.

Namely, according to ITF, Boskalis plans to cut 650 jobs worldwide, including 150 in the Netherlands, and scrap 24 ships, despite making EUR 440 million profit in 2015 and EUR 148 million in the first half of 2016.

Furthermore, ITF said that in the Netherlands, Fairmount Marine, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boskalis, is looking to replace permanent seafaring officers with lower paid nationals by outsourcing its entire ship management and crewing to Anglo Eastern.

“Boskalis continues to make a healthy profit, so it is clear that this is another case of crude social dumping – using highly vulnerable workers to do skilled work for low pay,” ITF maritime coordinator, Jacqueline Smith, said.

General secretary of Nautilus International Mark Dickinson said that they plan to continue fighting Boskalis’ proposal until the energy firm presents the financial data that the company says justifies its plan.

In July 2016, Boskalis revealed its plans to take 24 vessels out of service in the 2016-2018 period through scrapping, sale and lay-up, which would result in the loss of some 650 jobs worldwide during the period.

Boskalis said that the decision was made as the company published its fleet rationalization study that was initiated “in light of deteriorating market conditions and an expected prolonged period of low energy and commodity prices”.

The company also said that the workforce reduction would be absorbed through attrition and redeployment, where possible.