Toda Kisen KK listened to the seafarers

The Japanese shipping company Toda Kisen KK, which the trade union has repeatedly called for the conclusion of the ITF collective agreement, finally listened to its crews and agreed to start negotiations on signing the agreement. This was told by the chairman of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia Nikolay Sukhanov with reference to the ITF coordinator in Japan Fusao Ohori.

Another inspection of the company's vessel recently took place in the Vostochny port. This time, the bulk carrier Oriental Jetty (flag of Panama, IMO 9864875) which was loading coal bound for Japan came to the attention of the inspectors of the FETO SUR. As Nicolay Sukhanov noted, the actual shipowner and operator is Toda Kisen KK (the company also pays wages to seafarers and is financially responsible to them).

«The shipowner is notable for using convenient flags and cheap foreign labor in his fleet, but at the same time he has been avoiding negotiations on the conclusion of an ITF collective agreement for several years. Our colleague Fusao Ohori has repeatedly informed us that the company ignores the demands of the trade union. It came to the point that the Japanese Seafarers' Union held protests at the Toda Kisen KK office demanding compliance with the ITF policy regarding the system of flags of convenience, but it did not bring results»,- Nikolay Sukhanov explained.

As for the bulk carrier Oriental Jetty, a similar action took place on boarf in the port of Vostochny, so the crewmembers supported the ITF's demand. They had good reasons for this. Nikolay Sukhanov explained that 17 Filipino seafarers receive mere pennies. So, the salary of an AB is $ 1,189, the captain is $ 3,545. According to the captain, the crewmembers are insured for $ 50 thousand in case of death. They got a job on board through the Philippine manning agency.

«We explained to the crew that the flag of Panama allows the legislation of this country to be applied to the legal relations arising on board. Because of this, the laws of the Philippines do not apply to labor relations between a Japanese employer and Filipino sailors. On ships flying a flag of convenience, the only document that guarantees the protection of the interests of employees is the collective agreement of the International Transport Workers Federation. If it is available, the salary of an AB should not be less than $1800, and the insurance amount in case of death – less than $ 110 thousand. The collective agreement allows you to solve problems that arise on board, regardless of the country of origin of the shipping company, employees and the flag of the vessel»,– said the chairman of the FETO SUR.

During the visit to the bulk carrier, the inspectors of the FETO SUR handed over to the crew books on the rights of seafarers working under flags of convenience in English, and magazines Maritime Union Herald. Upon the request of the seafarers, another notice of warning was sent to Toda Kisen KK demanding negotiations on signing a collective agreement with the Japanese Seafarers' Union.