Labour Compensation Strategies/Practices of Maritime Industry-Discussion on Critical Cases

In July 25, 2020, a bulk carrier ran aground and there was an oil spill. *Mr. Perera, a Sri Lankan,was employed as anAble seaman with a Panama CDC (Continuous Discharge Certificates) onboard the vessel.He as well asmost of the crew had been onboardthe vessel over a period of 12 months in excess of their contracts, none of the mariners had access to communication to contact their families despite this been assured in their employment agreements.In addition many of the crew had not taken any shore leave since Sep 2019. Combinedwith the global pandemic that made the future of the seafarers uncertain. One of his fellow crew mates tried to jump overboard to escape the vessel and was seriously injured. Following the grounding the Master of the vessel and Chief Officer were arrested on 18 Aug 2020 and were charged with endangering safe navigation. The pair had been detained in prison since their arrest andhad not been released on bail. The remainder of the crew have been detained under ―house arrest‖ in a local hotel. The only organization that could help these seafarers would be their union who would stand by them in order to bring them home safely to their families and organize to get compensationfor unjust treatment andviolation oftheir rights. This concept paper would present several relevant institutions, programs and scientific research with impact for increasing union efficiency. The author would follow *Mr. Perera‘s emails to the union and how the immediate response brought the crew home. The main conclusion of this paper highlights the importance of the union and the further programs, policies and strategies that should be adopted to keep the seafarers‘ lives safe.