19.6 million rubles in compensation

This is the amount that the crew members and their families received in 2024 thanks to the intervention of the Technical Labor Inspection of the Seafarers' Union of Russia. 

The Labor Inspectors took part in the investigation of five accidents involving the seafarers – SUR members. Based on the results of the investigation of a serious accident, the injured Chief Officer got about RUB925,000. In total, the SUR Technical Labor Inspectors assisted seafarers and their relatives to receive 19.6 million rubles in compensation. During 2024, they visited 85 vessels in different regions of the country. 

The SUR Technical Labor Inspection's activity is not limited to just vessel visits, together with social partners – the shipowners, it takes part in improving the working conditions of seafarers. Thus, the Technical Labor Inspection, on behalf of SUR, sent comments and suggestions to the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation and the Russian Tripartite Commission in relation to regulatory documents governing the safe work of ship crews. Among those documents were: the draft Order of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation "On Amendments to the Regulation on the Peculiarities of Occupational Accidents Investigation in Certain Industries and Organizations, Forms of Documents, and Corresponding Classifiers Required for Occupational Accidents Investigation"; the draft of Rospotrebnadzor "On Approval of Forms of Sanitary and Hygienic Working Conditions and the Procedure for Drawing It Up"; proposals of the Russian Chamber of Shipping to replace the occupational safety training and certification procedure for crew members of seagoing vessels with the STCW Certificate. 

Besides, Technical Labor Inspectors participate in industry seminars. Last year they attended the VIII St. Petersburg International Labor Forum, the industry seminar "Possible Solutions to Current Issues in Occupational Safety on Vessels and in Ports", and others. 

A special assessment of working conditions with the participation of representatives of the Seafarers' Union of Russia was carried out on board a vessel of a Russian company. During the reporting period, 44 complaints concerning the safe working conditions of seafarers were considered, from which 43 cases were resolved in favor of Russian seafarers. In particular, the Technical Labor Inspector of the SUR Far Eastern Territorial Organization, Valentin Zherebtsov, achieved payment of $184,000 compensation to injured seafarers and family members of deceased seafarers.

 - We go on with the awareness activities among crew members, Officers attending advance courses and cadets of maritime educational institutions to promote compliance with occupational safety requirements and a healthy lifestyle during a voyage and on shore, - the Chief Technical Labor Inspector of the Seafarers' Union of Russia, Evgeny Khizhnyak, added. - We will continue to promptly consult seafarers and their family members on a variety of issues and make efforts to ensure decent and safe working conditions for Russian seafarers employed on vessels of Russian companies. The most important thing in our work is to ensure that seafarers return from voyages safe and sound. 

He added, the SUR Technical Labor Inspection work in close cooperation with other specialists of the Seafarers' Union of Russia, government bodies and shipowners on many aspects of the labor safety management system. "All these efforts aim to fulfill our main task, which is to pursue, at different levels, a policy on protecting the interests of seafarers regarding the occupational safety", - the SUR Chief Technical Labor Inspector, Evgeny Khizhnyak, noted.