Sur Azov and Don Territorial Organization Organized More than 45 Protest Actions

With the aim of protecting labour rights of seafarers the Azov and Don Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia (ADTO SUR) organized more than 45 protest actions and 36 of them – under foreign flag from 2011 to 2016. There are arrears amounting to 12 months’ wages on some vessels and therefore a protest action is a forced measure.

“Experience shows that it is harder to help seafarers working under Russian flag in receiving their payments in full. A contract usually stipulates a wage in rubles, but a part of the salary in foreign currency, or payment of foreign currency instead of daily rates, is not elsewhere indicated. Meanwhile, payment in foreign currency is 60-90% of gross earnings of some seafarers. Unfair ship owners don’t pay crews the part of the salary in foreign currency and they do not take responsibility for it”, says the ADTO SUR Chairman Leonid Glushak.

To prevent such breaches of seafarers’ rights the SUR Technical Inspectors check the vessels on a regular basis. The Black and Azov seas basin is one of the troublesome regions if we say about protection of labour rights. In case there is a problematic ship, the SUR activists start negotiations with its ship owner. According to statistics, this practice is a success in most cases: for five years 353 disputes have been solved through dialogue. However, the possibility of an agreement with employer failed in 52 cases

The ITF Inspectors help the SUR activists in their struggle for seafarers’ rights in the troublesome region. On the base of seafarers' appeals to the Union, 115 disputes were resolved with the Inspectors' help for five years. Another 48 seafarers’ appeals were settled by the SUR's Foreign Relations Department.

On the basis of joint and individual complaints concerning unpaid wages, the SUR lawyers had to appeal to court for five times. Thanks to the Azov and Don Territorial Organization more than $740,000 were returned to seafarers for the five-year period.

The Union takes measures to develop social partnership. To avoid an unfair employer, the Seafarers’ Union of Russia concludes agreements with companies. The Union was able to reach three agreements with on ship under Russian flag and one agreement with ship under foreign flag. One more agreement was concluded with a crewing company.

There are almost 5000 seafarers in the ADTO SUR. 800 of them have joined the Union for the last five years. Most of the “rookies”, or 525 people, work under Russian flag and the other 281 seafarers work on ships under foreign flag.