The trial with PJSC NBAMR again ended in favor of the seafarer

In the Shkotovsky district court of the city of Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Krai, a court hearing was held on the claim of PJSC Nakhodka Base of active marine fishing (PJSC NBAMR) to the OS Alexander Bondar. The company demanded to recover from the seafarer the amount of 89,709. 95 rubles, as according to the employer, he owed for accommodation and food on the trawler within a month after his dismissal and his repatriation, as well as the cost of the state duty paid by the plaintiff when filing the claim, in the amount of 2,891 rubles. It should be noted that this is not the first such trial against the former crewmembers of the m/v Astronom, who left the board due to the unbearable working conditions, but were forced to remain on board as passengers for several more weeks after that. The lawyer of the Far Eastern territorial organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia (FETO SUR), Vasily Savelyev, represented the interests of the seafarer.

Recall that after returning from a voyage that lasted from August to December 2019, the fishermen almost immediately turned to the union for help. First of all, their claims related to wages. They reported that when they were hired, the management of the fishing company promised them not only salaries (51,700 rubles for AB), but also a fishing share for the fish caught and sold. However, the employer chose to safely forget about this part of the agreement. At the same time, when they were employed, they were not given contracts of employment, and when they received part of the money in cash, they were not given payment lists. There were enough other problems on board, for example, expired food was delivered to the ship, which the 2nd officer publicly admitted at the crew meeting.

According to the seafarers, due to the difficult conditions on board of Astronom literally a month after going to sea, there was a pre-strike situation. However, this was not reflected in the captain's reports. As a result, after two months of work, half of the crew, 52 people, wrote applications to resign voluntarily. In fact, however, only 46 people left, the rest remained on the ship, because they had to pay off loans. At the same time, the retired seafarers were kept on board for another month, despite the proximity of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, where they could be sign off. As a result, they returned home without any salary at all, which, however they were able to reimburse, after consulting the FETO SUR and contacting the transport prosecutor's office. After that, the employer decided that for the happiness of being on the ship for a month as a passenger, the fishermen owed him. However, so far all the trials have not ended in his favor.

So, and this time, the lawyer of the FETO SUR, Vasily Savelyev, who represents the interests of Alexander Bondar, said during the trial that the employer's references to the norms of labor and collective agreements, which allow the employee to withhold the costs of repatriation without proven guilt, are illegal. The reason is that according to Article 9 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the terms and conditions included in these documents cannot restrict the rights of employees or reduce the guarantees provided to them in comparison with the norms of labor legislation. Therefore, all the provisions of these contracts, which worsen the working conditions in comparison with what is established in the legal norms, are invalid. The documents provided by the company, allegedly proving that the defendant committed absenteeism, the act of absence from the workplace and refusal to sign the order, are clearly falsified.

The lawyer noted that in order to legally claim compensation for the costs of repatriation, the shipowner must first prove the defendant's guilt, which he could not do. Having listened to these arguments, the judge of the Shkotovsky District Court refused to satisfy the claims of the NBAMR JSC. The same decision was made in relation to the company's previous two lawsuits against other crew members.

Alexander Bondar, for his part, expressed great gratitude to the SUR for its assistance in this protracted process, which lasted almost a year and a half.