The collective agreement has not been extended for m/v Horizon II

The previous agreement concluded with the All-Greek Federation of Seafarers (PNO) expired in April 2021. A new one on board the Horizon II (IMO 9537563, flag of Panama, built in 2011) did not appear, and the captain's message about this was ignored by the company. After visiting the ship, which was berthed at the Vostochny port under loading coal to India, representatives of the Far Eastern territorial Organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia (FETO SUR) sent a notice of warning to the shipowner demanding to conclude a collective agreement with the ITF in order to guarantee the best conditions for seafarers. «Today, the salary of an AB on board is $ 1,382, while if there was an ITF agreement, he would receive at least $ 1,750. The insurance coverage in the event of the death of a seafarer would also be more – not 50, but 100 thousand US dollars. The Panamanian company Golden Union Maritime Operations SA simply saves on the crew, so it does not want to renegotiate the collective agreement»,- said Nikolay Sukhanov, chairman of the FETO SUR. It should be noted that the flag of Panama, although it is on the white list of the latest rating of the Paris Memorandum (Paris MOU), occupies one of the last, 37th place in it. It attracts shipowners with its cheapness and favorable conditions, allowing them to spend less on wages and crew maintenance. Therefore, the ITF insists that a collective agreement is needed on ships under this flag, as it will increase the level of support and social guarantees for seafarers. Representatives of the trade union told about this to 20 Filipino crewmembers, manned through a state crewing agency in Manila, during a meeting with them. The seafarers also asked the representatives of the SUR a lot of questions, many of which related to the sensitive topics, for example the situation with Covid-19 in the world and the related shift crisis. To make them more aware of their rights and the activities of the trade union, the inspectors brought on board the latest issues of the Maritime Union Herald in Russian and English and the books «Do sailors have rights under convenient flags» written by Nikolay Sukhanov. After the conversation, the crewmembers took part in an action to combat flags of convenience on the Horizon II stern and asked to send a request to the shipowner for the immediate conclusion of an ITF collective agreement.