The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) has
advised all the ship owners, agents, and Recruitment and Placement Services
(RPS) companies to make available a copy of the Seafarers Employment Agreement
(SEA) to seafarers prior to their signing of departure to work on board a ship.
This comes following complaints by many
seafarers that they were not given enough time to go through and examine the
SEA. Most of the time, when the
owners and agents are taking their signatures in the SEA at the last moment of
their departure, they complain. India provides nearly 10 per cent of the 20
lakh global seafarers.
The advisory comes in the wake of complaints
received by the DG Shipping, not only from seafarers but also the next of kin
of deceased seafarers, stating/intimating that they are not aware of the
clauses incorporated in the SEA/ Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with
regard to death and disability compensation, wage scale, hours of work and
rest, overtime, and other allowances.
“All the RPS and seafarers are also hereby
advised that, while having a contract with the employer for working on foreign
flag vessels, the applicable CBA and its components, such as compensation for
death and disability; wage scale; repatriation cost; and working hours,” the
DGS said in its advisory.
The
MS (Maritime Labour) Rules 2016 ensures that seafarers recruited or placed by
it are informed of their rights and duties under their employment agreements, prior
to or in the process of their engagement. All the ship-owners, agents, and RPSs are hereby advised that while
entering into an agreement with seafarers for working on board ships, a
three-day gap may be provided to enable them to examine their employment
agreement, the advisory said.
The
SEA is an enforceable document with legal obligations for employers. The proposal needs to be thought through
carefully. It is important, however, that the seafarer exercises his duty of
care and reads the SEA prior to signing and should refuse if sufficient time is
not afforded. The seafarer will be well within his rights to refuse signing,
said Rajesh Tandon, CEO, Foreign Owners Representatives and Ship Managers
Association.