The 79th Congress of the All Japan Seamen's Union (JSU) took place in Tokyo.
The trade union movement in maritime sector of Japan dates back to 1896, when 68 ship’s officers set up the Kai-in (Seafarers’) Club in Kobe, the forerunner of the All Japan Seamen’s Union. In 1924 during the ILO General Conference, the union representative who attended had its first contact with the ITF. On October 26, 1929, the memorandum on affiliation to ITF was signed.
In October 1945 formed the All Japan Seamen’s Union, as it is composed today, and joined the ITF family in 1950.
In these days the JSU is a trade union that organizes maritime workers engaged in foreign and domestic trades, fisheries and waterfront.
Today, the JSU unites in its ranks both officers and ratings, working on board national- and foreign-flagged vessels, as well as fishermen and seafarers, working on private vessels. The total JSU membership exceeds 75,000 people.
We have repeatedly informed our readers of a long tradition of friendly relations between our Union and the JSU, enshrined by a Memorandum of Understanding. Signed in 2015, the Memorandum provides for the MTWTU membership to all Ukrainian seafarers working on JSU-covered vessels.
Of course, there are not that many Ukrainians working on Japanese-owned ships, but this number is constantly growing through the Memorandum concluded and the MTWTU efforts. This May, within the first Europe-Asia Maritime Summit (see the Maritime Magazine №89), there was launched the joint educational project of the MTWTU and the JSU. The project allows access to free English courses to Ukrainian seafarers, working on the Japanese vessels. The project has already produced results – the first group of seafarers has completed the course of basic maritime English, and the second group is about to do the same.
During the Congress in Tokyo, the current President Yasumi Morita was reelected to lead the All Japan Seaman’s Union during the new term. In honor of the reelection, the MTWTU First Vice Chairman Oleg Grygoriuk congratulated Mr. Morita on behalf of all Ukrainian seafarers and resented him a memorable plaque in solidarity and gratitude for the support of Ukrainian seafarers.
