Toda Ship Co is back on the trade union's radar

This time when inspecting at the port of Vostochny   M/V Sunrise Summer (Panama flag, IMO 9913963) owned by this company. The vessel, as well as the entire fleet flying  flags of convenience of this Japanese company, doesn’t have any collective bargaining agreement approved by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Toda Ship Co has been avoiding signing any of such  agreements for several years.

According to Nikolai Sukhanov, Chairman of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia,  after loading the ship is destined  for Japan. The registered owner of Sunrise Summer is Trio Happiness/Toda Ship Co, the operator is Toda Kisen KK.

“All companies are located at the same address in Japan and actually represent the one shipowner – Toda Ship Co, which, as we are aware by our colleagues,  avoids  contacts with ITF representatives by any means possible and does not want to sign any collective bargaining agreement”, –  Sukhanov explained. “At the same time the company uses a flag of convenience  and saves on the seafarers' salaries. Every attempt by the Japanese trade union to come to the negotiating table with Toda Ship Co ends in failure”.

 “This is the fifth ship of the company that called the ports  Vostochny and Nakhodka without having any ITF collective agreement on board, though we had sent several notices to the company’s management about the need to conclude a collective bargaining  agreement with the All Japan Seamen’s Union,” - Sukhanov outlined.

18 Filipino crew members of Sunrise Summer welcomed the SUR FETO representatives on board. The captain, for his part, provided all the information asked by the Inspectors.

So, the salary for the AB seaman was USD1171, and that for the captain was USD6200. Insurance certificates, as required by the Maritime Labor Convention, were present on board.

– According to the captain, the crew members are insured for USD50,000 in case of death. Daily food allowance per  each crew member was USD7,5”, -  Sukhanov added.

During their visit the SUR FETO Inspectors told the crew about a distinguishing feature of the FOC countries’ legislation which is  the lack of control over compliance with minimum social standards and guarantees.

“Therefore nothing prevents shipowners from establishing rules and regulations on their own. As a result  work and life on board are regulated not by a sovereign state, but by a sovereign shipowner, and seafarers working on board such vessels have to rely not on the law, but only on the decency of the company”, -  SUR FETO Chairman explained.

Let us recall that for more than 50 years the ITF has been fighting the flags of convenience system in order to provide seafarers, regardless of nationality, with decent  working conditions and social guarantees, established  in any ITF-approved collective agreement. For example,  the salary for the AB seaman should not be less than USD1,800, and the insurance amount payable on  death of any crew member should not be less than USD110,000.

“Through the case with  Sunrise Summer we see how the flags of convenience system operats: a Japanese shipowner employed Filipinos on a ship flying the Panamanian flag, which gives him the opportunity to pay for that  difficult and hard work less than it is worth ,” Nikolay Sukhanov noted.

Not wonder the ship's crew asked the SUR representatives to send  Toda Ship Co a request calling to conclude  an ITF collective bargaining agreement with the All Japan Seamen’s Union.