The Council of the SUR has completed its work

On the second day of work, the participants reviewed the action plan for the current year, discussed how the work of the union has changed in the context of a new coronavirus infection.

According to Vadim Ivanov, Deputy Chairman of the SUR, last year the union was engaged in a lot of issues of providing urgent medical care. For example, in April 2020, after almost four days of fighting with the Indonesian authorities, a 45-year-old Russian seafarer with symptoms of a stroke finally received medical care, which he was denied several times under the pretext of restrictions imposed in the country. Despite the fact that there was no Covid-19 infection on board the m/v WL Palekh (flag of Malta, IMO 9674397), where he worked, in violation of the international conventions ratified by the country ( (MLC-2006 and (SOLAS), the Indonesian authorities did not give permission for the urgent evacuation of the seafarer. The Russian Seafarers Union involved everyone who could help in overcoming administrative barriers and, as a result, the seafarer was evacuated. This is only one, perhaps the most high-profile case in a series of appeals to the union. Because of the pandemic, seafarers were isolated on their ships not only from the whole world, but also almost lost their social and labor rights to first aid, repatriation, and shore leaves. There were and still are huge difficulties with crew changes in most ports. At the very beginning of the pandemic, quarantine measures were introduced in the Russian port, as well as around the world, and seafarers in their country had to stay for 14 days in isolation on board the vessel called any port. For foreign seafarers, the shift in Russian ports was completely impossible. Thanks to the efforts of the SUR, the situation in our country has changed greatly for the better and the change of crews, subject to certain requirements, including foreign crewmembers, has become possible. Difficulties with shifts affected the seafarers who were stuck for a long time without work on the shore, many of them were provided with financial assistance by the SUR. 

The pandemic plays into the hands of shipowners. As for the latest news the International Negotiating Forum (IBF) has been postponed for the second time. As Vadim Ivanov explained to the participants of the Council, this happened by the decision of the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG), the party representing the interests of shipowners. Unions and employers (the IBF's social partners) were due to meet in 2020 to agree on a 2021-2022 increase in seafarers ' wages. The talks were originally scheduled for March 2020, but the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to an agreed decision to postpone the meeting until July last year. However, a month before the forum, representatives of the Joint Negotiating Group asked the unions to postpone the event to 2021 as employers were unable to meet in person due to Covid-19 and government travel bans. For its part, the ITF did not want to postpone important negotiations, but still supported the postponement in the hope that the meeting would take place in April 2021. The negotiations are now expected to take place in person or online no later than September 2021.

Among the achievements of the SUR, the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between the All-Russian Trade Union of Workers in the Oil and Gas Industries and Construction, the Seafarers Union of Russia and the Russian Trade Union of Workers in Nuclear Energy and Industry was noted. Within the framework of the Agreement, the parties agreed to jointly protect the interests and rights of members of branch unions and to take into account common interests when interacting with federal authorities. One of the main tasks of the three friendly unions will undoubtedly be to promote the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and the state program Socio-economic Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. An Industry Agreement for 2021-2024 was also signed. The next meeting of the Council of the SUR is scheduled for September and it will be devoted to the preparation for the upcoming IX Congress of the SUR.