ADTO SUR: issues are addressed

Timely repatriation and payment of wages remain the main reasons to turn to the union for help. Chairman of the Azov-Don Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia Leonid Glushak summed up the work of ADTO RPSM in 2023. “As before, seafarers needed assistance to get back their wage debts,” he said. “Problems of this kind arise both on ships flying foreign flags and Russian ones.”

So, a seafarer applied ADTO SUR with a complaint against the company for non-payment of money for an injury. He told there was an agreement on payment of a monthly salary, which consists of RUB42,000 and USD900, in case of an injury during a voyage. However, the company agreed to pay only the ruble part of the salary, and refused to pay the dollar part. Leonid Glushak noted that the negotiations were difficult, but the situation was resolved: both parties to the labor dispute were satisfied with the outcome. 

Another case concerned a sailor who got hired at a foreign company on a contract for six months (-2/+3), having warned that he could only work for a little more than four months as he had to return to studies. Eventually, the seafarer remained on board much longer: the company failed to find him a replacement. After the signing off from the vessel, it turned out that he was not paid bonuses in the amount of about USD1,700, besides, the company didn't refund him repatriation costs, which he paid out of his own pocket. The company explained, that the bonus is paid at the discretion of the employer. After all, the union and the shipowner found a compromise that suited the sailor. He was reimbursed for repatriation expenses.

Issues relating to a signing off from the vessel were among the most common appeals to the Union also. Thus, a cook of a foreign vessel complained of feeling sick during a voyage. She was repatriated only after the union intervened. Literally a few days later she was already in Russia in a hospital for treatment. Three other seafarers also needed assistance in signing off from a vessel which was in a critical condition, so they were seriously concerned about their safety. In addition, they were not always paid wages on time. ADTO SUR resolved all the problems in favor of the seafarers who applied the union: they were repatriated with all due money paid.

Two other cases involved repatriation upon termination of contracts. The first case concerned a Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-based company refused to sign off a seafarer from the vessel. The seafarer applied to ADTO SUR, and following a telephone conversation with the shipowner, the issue conflict was settled. In another case, a crew member’s contract had expired, but the employer didn't hurry to sign off a seafarer from the vessel, because he did not want to arrange a replacement of the seafarer in Turkey, where the ship was being docked. In addition, the company did not want to pay for travel to the seaman’s place of residence. The fact is that after repairs, the ship was supposed to go to Russia, from where it would be cheaper and faster to arrange repatriation. However, the seafarer did not have time to wait; he had to return to his studies on time. Following ADTO SUR intervention, the shipowner carried out his obligations, despite the inconvenience for the company. The seafarer who applied to the trade union managed to return home in time for the start of his studies.

Also, SUR members applied to the trade union for consultations. Thus, a captain applied to ADTO SUR with request to check a foreign shipping company, which offered him a contract. According to Leonid Glushak, they consulted the SUR International Affairs Department and found out there were scammers behind the tempting contract, and the captain could have fallen into a trap. He thanked SUR for providing up-to-date information. “This once again confirms the old saying: “Whoever owns the information, owns the world,” - the ADTO SUR Chairman emphasized.

Another consultation related the right actions when got injured. The request came from a 3d Engineer, he suffered a serious injury to his left hand at work. ADTO SUR suggested what documents should be prepared for the accident to be deemed as insured event. Having done everything as advised by the trade union, the seafarer got all the insurance payouts due.

Another labor dispute, concerning the compensation for travel costs to the vessel, was nearly to broke out. The SUR Direct Line received a request from the mother of a sailor. The woman wrote that her son was urgently called to work, indicating that within 24 hours he had to join the vessel. The seafarer, covered 500 km by taxi, and arrived at the place of joining the vessel, but it turned out that the vessel had not yet moored, and the seafarer had to stay for a night at a hotel. When he provided expense receipts to the Rostov-based company, at first he was refused a refund, then they said that the documents were being considered. A month later, the seafarer still had not received the money. The union contacted the employer, and only then the company confirmed that all costs would be paid to the seafarer.

At the end of last year, ADTO SUR received an appeal from a Chief Officer, a SUR member, regarding the reimbursement of money paid to the recruitment agency for job placement services. 

Since the service was not provided to him, they should have returned the money, but the agency delayed a little with the refund. After the union intervened, the seafarer got the money. SUR takes this opportunity to remind that fees for employment on ships is illegal: crewing agencies  do not have the right to take money for their services from seafarers, as employers pay agencies for recruitment services.

Let us add that last year 20 people joined ADTO SUR, and a collective agreement was signed with a Russian company. Chairman of the Azov-Don Territorial Organization of SUR Leonid Glushak noted that seafarers face quite a lot of issues, but, most commonly, many of them are addressed. As for plans for the future, the goals and tasks of ADTO SUR are still the same: protection of the interests of the trade union members; increase of the trade union's members; renewal of the existing collective agreement and maintaining negotiations with shipping companies; signing collective agreements with new companies; cooperation with crewing and recruitment agencies; joint inspections with the prosecutor's office, labor inspectorate and other supervisory authorities; exchange of best practices with colleagues and stakeholders.

Photo — Vyacheslav Argenberg/http://www.vascoplanet.com/