Barriers to union membership are being broken down

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محتوى الصفحة: Home > مجلة النقل الدولي "Transport International" > Issue 19 April 2005 > A Brighter Lookout? > Barriers broken down

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Union awareness is growing among Russian seafarers and fishermen, says Petr Osichansky

In Russia, both seafarers and fishermen take a utilitarian attitude to trade unions: they only remember them when they are in dire straits. That’s how it was a couple of years ago on the Rybak Chukotki for example, when the crew of that enormous factory ship, which was undergoing repairs in Pusan, had received no wages for nearly a year. So the fishermen approached the ITF office in Vladivostok and joined the union, in order to get assistance.

The union helped them, and wages of nearly US$500,000 were paid to them – except for the master, who decided not to join the union. As for the union’s new members, they disappeared onto the open sea and will only reappear the next time they are not paid their wages.

It was the same story with the fishermen from the Rekin and Khaiduk, who had had problems two years running with the payment of their wages – after appealing to the union, they received their money, and promptly forgot all about the union. The crews of many other ships have likewise approached unions for help, got what they were owed, but for the most part failed to retain their union membership.

Roots of reluctance

So why do seafarers and fishermen avoid joining a union?

There are at least two explanations for this phenomenon. Firstly, the small shipping companies, which make extensive use of flags of convenience, avoid hiring union members. There is an unspoken prohibition on joining a union. And given the high level of unemployment, seafarers are forced to choose between a union and having at least some sort of pay.

Only a few of them are capable of such a feat as keeping their union membership secret. Their wages are normally not high – US$300–400 per month. But they can top them up by doing additional jobs, such as lashing and unlashing cargo, cleaning out the holds and loading and unloading cars, and by bringing in from Japan spare parts for cars; this enables them to earn up to US$800 a month.

The second reason why seafarers do not want to join a union is psychological. In Soviet times, if a seafarer had a problem, all he had to do was complain to the union and it would unfailingly be resolved—usually to the benefit of the worker. Obviously, this was down not so much to the union as to the Party Committee, which everyone was afraid of. In those days, the Party was everything. This state of affairs fostered a culture of social dependence among seafarers and fishermen.

In today’s conditions, however, it takes more than just complaining to the union. You need to take actions yourself—like going on strike, and initiating legal proceedings against the employer. The outcome will not always be to the benefit of the seafarers. But even if a ruling is made in their favour, it’s not always possible to implement it. In other words, seafarers could spend years trying to recover their wages and end up with nothing. This is something that they are not used to. Most of them, therefore, are not yet ready to create a strong and independent union, and this kind of temporary union membership suits them just fine.

And yet more and more seafarers – many of them, encouragingly, officers and even masters – are calling in at the ITF office in Vladivostok before boarding their ships, asking how they can become members of the ITF. Many of the seafarers still remember the help they were given by the ITF when Adriatic Tankers and Millennium went bankrupt. They realise how important it is for them to have employment contracts and, even more importantly, a collective agreement. Slowly but surely, union awareness amongst Russian seafarers and fishermen is growing.

Petr Osichansky is an ITF Inspector in Vladivostok.

الصفحة الرئيسية للأقسام:
Issue 19 April 2005

صفحات أخرى لـ A Brighter Lookout?:
Major Improvements to Port Facilities

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