The collective agreement helped the crew to sign off from vessel

Thanks to the interaction of the Russian and Italian seafarers’ unions and the MSC company the change of crew of the m/v MSC Ishyka has been arranged – the  seafarers were waiting for it for more than a month. This was made possible by that fact  the ship had the ITF collective agreement.

According to one of the crew members his employment contract expired but the company did not sign him off. He was waiting for repatriation  over a month, and only then he  contacted the SUR. Already after 5 days from his appeal to the Union the seafarer was signed off  in Turkey.  The MSC found an opportunity to send it’s worker home/ besides,  the shipowner covered all costs.

The Seafarers' Union of Russia notes that the main protection of a seafarer during a voyage is the ITF collective agreement. This document clearly establishes the rights and obligations of the parties, and ITF Inspectors or national seafarers' unions address misunderstandings or issues arising on board. 

In any way, whether there is collective agreement on board or not, the terms of the contract must be respected. The Maritime Labor Convention allows for a maximum period during which a crew member may work continuously on board a ship to be entitled  for repatriation at the shipowner's expense of 11 months. When the contract expires, any seafarer has the right to request repatriation. To force the contract extension  on a seafarer is unacceptable.

Photo by Shine Abraham/marinetraffic.com