PROUD TO BE A UNION MEMBER

A Russian seafarer at the German port Rostock turned to the ITF inspector Hamani Amadou asking for the prolongation of the union membership card. As the case has no precedent, the inspector Amadou called to Kaliningrad organization in order to understand what the seaman wants.

A simple-minded seaman has joined the SUR at the port of Taganrog - far to the South of Russia, and has realized, that he is protected by the ITF only with a valid membership card in his hands. And if the validity period of the card expired in a voyage, it should be extended in any available ITF inspection office.

Theoretically, this is absolutely correct, because all the unions affiliated with ITF -are one family. But in this family, as in any other, there is no need to confirm the degree of relationship with some paper or certificate. This is - the case within the family, and it belongs to the jurisdiction of each of the national unions. If a seafarer thinks he is being a member of the trade-union, the last one is obliged to admit it.

This is what we want to explain to the guy from Taganrog, to whom we are very thankful, for the showed consciousness.