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Indian seafarers win massive arrears payout
6 September 2006
Indian seafarers’ unions have won substantial arrears payments for their members after the threat of strike action forced shipowners to back down.
The ITF-affiliated National Union of Seafarers of India and the Forward Seamen’s Union of India have been demanding that ratings and petty officers receive decent arrears and a share in the shipowners’ profits. The seafarers had lost out as a result of a long delay in concluding a collective bargaining agreement and were only receiving interim monthly relief payments amounting to Rs 1500 (US$32) for ratings and Rs 2000 (US$43) for petty officers.
Despite negotiations between the unions and the Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) in late April, it wasn’t until the unions served a strike action notice on all India-flagged vessels for 29 August, that the employers conceded. The ITF adopted a resolution supporting strike action at the federation’s Congress in Durban, South Africa. ITF General Secretary David Cockroft had also earlier urged INSA to conclude a collective bargaining agreement with the unions.
INSA has now agreed to award arrears amounting to Rs 1400 (US$30) per month for ratings and Rs 1900 (US$41) per month for petty officers. These payments are additional to the interim relief already received by the seafarers and will be backdated to cover periods of work during which no collective agreement was in place. Payments towards the seafarers’ provident fund and gratuities will also be deposited with the authorities.
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