Seafarers’ wages and repatriation has been of concern as it has become more of an issue in recent years. According to the Paris MoU PSC Inspection Results (2021-01 to 2024-06), SEA-related deficiencies ranked the third among the top 20 deficiencies. SEA and wages ranked the top two among all detainable deficiencies related to MLC Title 2 - Conditions of Employment. In view of this, the Tokyo and Paris MoUs agreed to jointly run a CIC on the topic of crew wages and Seafarer Employment Agreements under MLC from September to November this year. The practice is expected to be followed by other MoUs. The Association has therefore prepared this article to go through each of the 10 questions in the CIC Questionnaire and help masters prepare documents as required.

Q1. Is the seafarer given a SEA signed by both the seafarer and the shipowner or a representative of the shipowner?

Standard A2.1 1(a) of MLC, 2006 provides that “seafarers working on ships that fly its flag shall have a seafarers’ employment agreement signed by both the seafarer and the shipowner or a representative of the shipowner (or, where they are not employees, evidence of contractual or similar arrangements) providing them with decent working and living conditions on board the ship as required by this Convention”.

The original SEA is not required to be on board, and keeping a copy of the SEA by both the seafarer and the master should satisfy the requirement, except when a crew member’s employment agreement expires at sea, then the original new agreement should be on board. The common practice to ensure compliance is to keep the original SEA on board or have it signed on board by the master on behalf of the shipowner. It should be noted that if the SEA is signed by the shipowner’s representative, a copy of the authorization letter from the shipowner should be kept on board ready for inspection. The shipowner’s representative can be the crewing agency or the ship’s master.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Crew list

           Original or copies of SEA of each crew member

           Owner’s letter of authorization to sign the SEA

           License of the company providing crewing services

Q2. Is the seafarer able to access information regarding their employment conditions on board?

Standard A2.1 1(d) of MLC, 2006 provides that “measures shall be taken to ensure that clear information as to the conditions of their employment can be easily obtained on board by seafarers, including the ship’s master, and that such information, including a copy of the seafarers’ employment agreement, is also accessible for review by officers of a competent authority, including those in ports to be visited”.

According to the Convention, a copy of each seafarer’s employment agreement, together with any specific terms, agreements and documents incorporated into the employment agreement, or a copy of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) where applicable, should be kept on board. and measures should be taken to ensure that all seafarers, including the master, have easy access to clear information on their terms and conditions of employment on board the ship. As required by Guideline B2.2.2 Calculation and Payment 4(b): the seafarers’ employment agreement specifying the applicable wages or wage rates should be carried on board the ship; information on the amount of wages or wage rates should be made available to each seafarer, either by providing at least one signed copy of the relevant information to the seafarer in a language which the seafarer understands, or by posting a copy of the agreement in a place accessible to seafarers or by some other appropriate means.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Copy of SEA

           Copy of CBA (if applicable)

           Measures to ensure that the copy of SEA/CBA containing the information of the conditions of employment can be obtained

Q3. Are standard form of seafarers’ employment agreements and parts of any applicable collective bargaining agreements subject to port State control under Reg.5.2, available in English?

3, Regulation 2.1 of MLC, 2006 provides that “To the extent compatible with the Member’s national law and practice, seafarers’ employment agreements shall be understood to incorporate any applicable collective bargaining agreements”.

2, Standard A2.1 of MLC, 2006 provides that “Where a collective bargaining agreement forms all or part of a seafarers’ employment agreement, a copy of that agreement shall be available on board. Where the language of the seafarers’ employment agreement and any applicable collective bargaining agreement is not in English, the following shall also be available in English (except for ships engaged only in domestic voyages):

(a) a copy of a standard form of the agreement; and

(b) the portions of the collective bargaining agreement that are subject to a port State inspection under Regulation 5.2”.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Standard form of SEA in English

           Copy of CBA in English (if applicable)

Q4. Does the seafarers’ employment agreement include all the required elements specified in the MLC, 2006?

4, Standard A2.1 of MLC, 2006 provides that “Each Member shall adopt laws and regulations specifying the matters that are to be included in all seafarers’ employment agreements governed by its national law. Seafarers’ employment agreements shall in all cases contain the following particulars:

(a) the seafarer’s full name, date of birth or age, and birthplace;

(b) the shipowner’s name and address;

(c) the place where and date when the seafarers’ employment agreement is entered into;

(d) the capacity in which the seafarer is to be employed;

(e) the amount of the seafarer’s wages or, where applicable, the formula used for calculating them;

(f) the amount of paid annual leave or, where applicable, the formula used for calculating it;

(g) the termination of the agreement and the conditions thereof, including:

(i) if the agreement has been made for an indefinite period, the conditions entitling either party to terminate it, as well as the required notice period, which shall not be less for the shipowner than for the seafarer;

(ii) if the agreement has been made for a definite period, the date fixed for its expiry; and

(iii) if the agreement has been made for a voyage, the port of destination and

the time which has to expire after arrival before the seafarer should be discharged;

(h) the health and social security protection benefits to be provided to the seafarer by the shipowner;

(i) the seafarer’s entitlement to repatriation;

(j) reference to the collective bargaining agreement, if applicable; and

(k) any other particulars which national law may require”.

The Convention requires the SEA to contain at least the 11 items listed above. It might cause trouble for the inspection officer if some of these particulars are contained in the CBA, and therefore the master should be readily aware of the particulars.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Copy of SEA

           Copy of CBA (if applicable)

           DMLC I and DMLC II

Q5. Do particulars included in the seafarers' employment agreement comply with MLC, 2006 requirements?

The particulars in the SEA, especially those required to be included under Q4, should comply with MLC, 2006 requirements. Non-conformities related to calculation of wages, repatriation and termination of the agreement were most frequently found in CIC 2016.

1. Seafarers’ personal data relevant to employment, the owner’s information and the entry into force information of the agreement should be accurate.
2. Seafarers’ wages should comply with Standard A2.2 requirements, which should be no less than the applicable minimum wage in accordance with national laws and regulations. Payments should be made at no greater than monthly intervals and seafarers should be given a monthly account of the payments due. It is also required that shipowners shall provide seafarers with a means to transmit all or part of their earnings to their families at a reasonable charge. In the event of piracy or armed robbery incidents, wages and other entitlements due to seafarers shall continue to be paid during the entire period of captivity.
3. Termination of SEA should comply with Standard A2.1 requirements. The minimum notice periods to be given for the early termination of an agreement shall not be shorter than seven days. A notice period shorter than the minimum may be given in circumstances which are recognized under national law or regulations or applicable collective bargaining agreements as justifying termination of the employment agreement at shorter notice or without notice. In determining those circumstances, each Member shall ensure that the need of the seafarer to terminate, without penalty, the employment agreement on shorter notice or without notice for compassionate or other urgent reasons is taken into account.
4. Hours of work and hours of rest should comply with Standard A2.3 requirements. The maximum hours of work and/or the minimum hours of rest should be met as required by national laws or regulations and properly recorded.
5. Duration of service periods and annual leave should comply with Standard A2.4 and A2.5.1 requirements. A2.5.1 2(b) provides that the maximum duration of service periods on board shall be less than 12 months and A2.4 provides that the annual leave with pay entitlement shall be calculated on the basis of a minimum of 2.5 calendar days per month of employment.
6. Repatriation should comply with Standard A2.5.1 and A2.5.2 requirements. The SEA should contain appropriate provisions on the circumstances entitling the seafarer to repatriation, transportation, the cost to be borne by the shipowner, the destination to be repatriated. Financial security shall be provided to ensure that seafarers are duly repatriated.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Copy of SEA

           Copy of CBA (if applicable)

           DMLC I and DMLC II

           Minimum wages set by the flag state administration or the CBA

           Payrolls

           Seaman’s service record

           Shipboard duty personnel working time arrangements

           Records of daily hours of work and hours of rest (signed by the seafarer and the authorized officer)

           Medical records, list of medicines and instruments, medical certificates of the responsible doctor

           Records of social security payments

           Evidence of financial security for repatriation and shipowners’ liabilities

Q6. Are wage or salary payments made to the seafarer at no greater than monthly intervals?

Note that there should be only one valid pay check. The practice where some seafarers’ wages are kept temporarily by the master and remitted later when at a certain amount may also be considered non-compliant.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Payrolls

           Certificate of remittance such as bank statements or text message notifications

Q7. Have seafarers been given a status of accounts and wages paid on at least a monthly basis?

Standard A2.2 provides that seafarers shall be given a monthly account of the payments due and the amounts paid, including wages, additional payments and the rate of exchange used where payments has been made in a currency or at a rate different from the one agreed to.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Monthly payroll of each crew member

Q8. Are wage or salary payments in accordance with any applicable CBA or SEA?

Seafarers’ wages should be no less than the applicable minimum wage in accordance with national laws and regulations. Payments should be made at no greater than monthly intervals and seafarers should be given a monthly account of the payments due. It is also required that shipowners shall provide seafarers with a means to transmit all or part of their earnings to their families at a reasonable charge. In the event of piracy or armed robbery incidents, wages and other entitlements due to seafarers shall continue to be paid during the entire period of captivity.

• Documents to be prepared:

           SEA/CBA

           Payrolls

           Certificate of remittance

           DMLC II

Q9. If payments made to a seafarer include deductions, are they in accordance to the MLC, 2006?

Guideline B2.2.2 Calculation and Payment 4(h) provides that “deduction from remuneration should be permitted only if:

(i) there is an express provision in national laws or regulations or in an applicable collective agreement and the seafarer has been informed, in the manner deemed most appropriate by the competent authority, of the conditions for such deductions; and

(ii) the deductions do not in total exceed the limit that may have been established by national laws or regulations or collective agreements or court decisions for making such deductions”.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Payrolls

           Deduction provisions in the SEA/CBA

           Policies relating to social security and personal income tax

Q10a. Is a certificate or documentary evidence of financial security, issued by the financial security provider, available on board in the event of compensation for death and long-term disability?

Standard A4.2.1 Shipowners’ liability 1(b) provides that “shipowners shall provide financial security to assure compensation in the event of the death or long-term disability of seafarers due to an occupational injury, illness or hazard, as set out in national law, the seafarers’ employment agreement or collective agreement”.

Each Member shall require that ships that fly its flag carry on board a certificate or other documentary evidence of financial security issued by the financial security provider. A copy shall be posted in a conspicuous place on board where it is available to the seafarers. Where more than one financial security provider provides cover, the document provided by each provider shall be carried on board.

According to Appendix A4-I of the convention, the certificate or other documentary evidence of financial security required shall include the following information:

1. Name of the ship;
2. Port of registry of the ship;
3. Call sign of the ship;
4. IMO number of the ship;
5. Name and address of the persons or entity responsible for handling seafarers’ contractual claims;
6. Name of the shipowner;
7. Period of validity of the financial security; and
8. An attestation from the financial security provider that the financial security meets the requirements of Standard A4.2.1.

• Documents to be prepared:         

           Certificate of financial security (posted in a conspicuous place on board)

Q10b. Is a certificate or documentary evidence of financial security, issued by the financial security provider, available on board in the event of the repatriation?

According to Standard A2.5.2 Financial security, it is required to ensure the provision of an expeditious and effective financial security system to assist seafarers in the event of their abandonment.

It is also required that ships shall carry on board a certificate or other documentary evidence of financial security issued by the financial security provider. A copy shall be posted in a conspicuous place on board where it is available to the seafarers. Where more than one financial security provider provides cover, the document provided by each provider shall be carried on board.

Such certificate is often provided by the P&I insurer and shall be in English or accompanied by an English translation.

• Documents to be prepared:

           Certificate of financial security (posted in a conspicuous place on board)

For more information, please contact Managers of the Association.

Attachments:

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Press release on 2024 CIC on Crew Wages and Seafarer Employment Agreements (MLC)-final.pdf	253 kB