SUR STO holds a General Meeting

Nikolay Popov was elected as a Chairman for another term.

This year, the Southern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia is celebrating 20 years since its establishment. During this time, we managed to build steady feedback from shipowners, create a team of skilled specialists and, most importantly, prove our efficiency to the seafarers of Novorossiysk. This is confirmed by the figures: the SUR STO unites about 12,000 members.

The bargaining activity of the SUR STO is very successful either : the primary organization can be justly proud of its concluded collective agreements. All of them - and there are currently seven of them - reliably protect the rights of workers and offer them a wide range of social guarantees.

The most important focus remains the same: the involvement of seafarers into trade unions. The media has been, is and will be an effective tool for this purpose. The media use case studies to show seafarers the benefits of trade union membership, what the levers of influence on negligent shipowners are and how to execute them efficiently.

The delegates acknowledged the work of the Chairman and the Council of the SUR STO for the reporting period as satisfactory and noted that the STO remains one of the largest territorial organizations of SUR thanks to its competent management. A close-knit team with excellent organizational competencies contributed a lot to STO SUR's successful performance. The delegates decided that this most valuable experience should be shared to young people while introducing new methods and modern tools into trade union activities that prompt the development of the SUR, its strengthening and its growth. For this purpose, the delegates approved the increase in the membership of the STO Council by young trade union members, including acting captains working for Russian and foreign companies.

Nikolay Popov, STO SUR Chairman, said. – Today we face new challenges, including cooperation with small crewing companies with their own specifics. 

Another factor is digitalization, which enters all aspects of life - seafarers get employment via the Internet, and in this situation, it is important to explain to a person in time why he needs a union.

The Chairman thanked the delegates for the high appreciation of his work and their confidence, and confirmed STO SUR's commitment to continue the policy of development in the next reporting period. 

Source: STO SUR; photo: STO SUR