The company sighed agreement with the union

Visiting the vessel by representatives of trade unions helps not only to find out the conditions under which seafarers work, but also to find out if there is a document on board that says everything: salary, overtime, compensation, and so on. As it became clear  during one of the last ITF ship inspections in the port of Kaliningrad, the m / v “VITIN” already had two collective agreements on board, but anyway  all kinds of the  requirements, including the Maritime labor Convention of 2006. The result of the inspection was the signing of a collective agreement based on ITF form.

- The vessel “VITIN” (IMO 9006289, flag of the Faroe Islands) had two collective agreements on board, however, these documents were not approved by the ITF, and their general content and specific details left much to be desired, - says Vadim Mamontov, inspector of the International Federation of Transport Workers ( ITF / ITF) in the port of Kaliningrad. “Now the the crew, consisting of residents of the FaroesIslands and Filipinos, has guarantees of decent working conditions, salary payments and it’s protected by the ITF.

Funny enough but the signing of this collective agreement was not preceded by lengthy negotiations or any actions. All that was needed was one scrupulous inspection, during which various deficiencies including those related to compliance with the standards of the MLCC 2006 in terms of working hours were identofoed.

- The collective agreement was signed for two years, - says Vadim Mamontov. - At the moment, the shipowner - the company Sandgrevstur (Sandgrevstur, Faroe Islands), has been fixing out the deficienciesfound and willingly comes in contact with the trade union so it’s the good news.