FETO SUR sent a warning letter to the company from Hong Kong

The Far Eastern territorial organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia has sent a warning letter  to the Hong Kong company Boshi Int'l Shipping MGMTL  due to the fact that its vessel,  Fu Qiang (flag of Belize, IMO 9115406),  is not covered by the collective agreement. This was revealed during a visit to the ship, when she was at the pier of the fishing port of Nakhodka under the unloading of equipment. According to Nikolai Sukhanov, the chairman of the FETO SUR, the situation on board of Fu Qiang is a vivid example of the profitable use of the flag of convenience, but only the employer benefits from it. «The ship is manned by the crew of 16 people -11 Chinese seafarers, four from Burma and one Indonesian. They have individual contracts, there are insurance certificates, according to the requirement of the Maritime Labor Convention and seafarers are insured in the American Club. However, the vessel is not covered by collective agreement. Hence the crew receive corresponding earnings: the salary of AB is 870 US dollars, the captain-6500 US dollars»,- explains N. Sukhanov. The seafarers were told that the industry, thanks to the efforts of the ITF and its national trade unions, has long developed standard employment conditions for crewmembers of different nationalities working on ships under the flags of convenience. We are talking about a collective agreement. «As per collective agreement, the salary of AB should not be less than 1750 US dollars, and the insurance cover in case of death-less than 100 thousand US dollars. In Hong Kong, for example, there is a ITF affiliated trade union, so management of the Boshi Int'L Shipping MGMTL could conclude an agreement. However, this is not done and using the flag of Belize the company not only manages to save on the salary of seafarers, but also does not bear due responsibility to the crew.» - continues N. Sukhanov. He also added that during the visit to the ship, union’s representatives were allowed to inspect the cabins and mess rooms, where the seafarers spend most of their time. According to the cook, the daily diet is $ 7 per person, which is quite enough for a varied and high-quality diet. Due to the lack of a collective agreement, the FETO SUR sent a warning letter to the company with a proposal to negotiate the signing of the agreement and thereby guarantee the Fu Qiang’s crewmembers decent employment. The seafarers themselves, in support of the actions of the trade union, held a protest action against the flags of convenience that allow employers to economize on conditions of labour of the seafarers.