Collective Bargaining Agreement - a guarantee of decent salary

Having a Collective  Bargaining Agreement covering a vessel  provides seafarers with many benefits. One of them is the higher salary, that make crew members to worry less about their own future and the wellbeing of their families. There are no serious problems on board  the vessel Emesa (IMO 9516868, flag of Liberia, built in 2009) which representatives of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia have visited today at the port of Nakhodka. “Yet, the AB’s salary is USD1350, while if there has been  the  ITF-approved Collective Bargaining Agreement on board  the AB would receive at least USD1800,” said Nikolay Sukhanov, Chairman of the SUR FETO.

According to him, the ship's registered owner is Hunan Minmetals Antimony and Titanium Limited from Hong Kong, and the operator is the Moscow-based Sredne-Volzhskaya Shipping Company.  The crew include 18 Russian seafarers came from the European part of the country. Individual employment contracts with a foreign employer are available on board.  The Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance, Part II, meanwhile, has been signed by the general director of the Sredne-Volzhskaya Shipping Company, which pays wages and  is  responsible for the crew. 

The Insurance Certificates are in place on board the vessel either,  though the seafarers don’t know the amount of compensation they are entitled to in case of death or  workplace injury. 

It should be mentioned that if there was a collective agreement in place, it would have amounted to about USD110 000. The salary of the captain on board is about USD5000, and daily food allowance  per person is stipulated in the amount of USD10.

– During a meeting in the mess room we told the crew  about the operations of the SUR, about the benefits of having an ITF-approved  Collective Bargaining Agreement on board that guarantees crew members decent working conditions and protection in case of controversial situations. Also, we told them about the flags of convenience that shipowners often choose in order to save their expenses, crew salaries including.  After that, the crew have asked us to send a message to the Chinese shipowner concerning the need to conclude a Collective Bargaining Agreement, - Nikolai Sukhanov added.

During our talking a lot of questions concerning COVID-19 pandemic have arisen: “The crew wanted to know  how crew changes take place during this period, where they can be vaccinated and what the situation is at the moment in Nakhodka”, the SUR FETO Chairman said.

 - I should  say that thanks to the efforts of international organizations, including the ITF, today the number of crew members who continue to work on board in excess of  the terms of their contracts has been  reduced significantly.  For its part, the SUR  has provided and continues to provide great assistance in repatriation of Russian crews”, - he added.

Union representatives explained  the procedure for joining to those crew members who are not yet the SUR members. 

In addition, the Inspectors of the SUR Far East Territorial Organization handed to the seafarers the latest magazines “Maritime Union Herald”, books in English “What are the rights of the seafarers working on ships under the flags of convenience”  and the SUR FETO calendars for 2022.