The Hindu Business Line : Seafarer unions row over majority status

THE Union Law Ministry is of the opinion that the dispute between the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and the Forward Seamen Union of India (FSUI) on majority status should be settled as per law.

The Law Ministry's advice on the vexed issue pertaining to majority status of ratings (workers) employed on board Indian flagships has put the Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) in a quandary.

"How can we settle the issue as per law when there is no law dealing with the subject," asks an INSA official. That was precisely the reason why the Law Ministry's stand was sought, he disclosed.

INSA, the umbrella body representing Indian shipowners, has for the past several months been grappling with the issue of settling the dispute between the two warring seafarer unions over majority status to start the new wage negotiations for ratings, which include workers employed in home trade and off-shore divisions as well as petty officers.

Seafarers are not covered by the Industrial Disputes Act. The Code of Ethics of 1955 adopted at the Indian Labour Conference is also not binding on the seafarers, as it does not have any force of law. Seafarers come under the Merchant Shipping Act. Section 150 of the MS Act refers to labour dispute arising out of problems between the employers and employees. In such an event, the Director-General (Shipping) can intervene and set up a Tribunal to settle the dispute. "But, the MS Act does not mention anything about majority status or how to conduct a verification," says the INSA official.

The Regional Labour Commissioner (RLC) can undertake verification to determine the majority status of a labour union through methods such as secret ballot or log entry if all the aspiring unions give their consent. Though FUSI is amenable to a verification to settle the majority status, NUSI is understood to be opposed to any such methods on the plea that such an exercise would be difficult when dealing with workers on-board or who were on leave.

Every day, INSA is flooded with letters and representations from splinter unions and new ones claiming that they had majority status and that the owners body should hold negotiations with them for the fresh wage pact which has been pending for the past two years.

While making such claims, these entities have named sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) and even MLAs as their patrons. One such union has even named the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, as their patron. Mr Singh had earlier served as the Surface Transport Minister.

By assuring jobs, these entities have also enrolled fresh Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) holders as their members. "There are thousands of CDC holders some of whom have not even done their sea-time training. These CDC holders are being enticed by unions to join their respective ranks on job assurances to boost their strength", says the official.

Whereas, INSA says that the determination of majority status can be done only on the basis of regular/permanent employees working on board Indian flag vessels.

Confronted with this issue, INSA had referred the matter to the Shipping Ministry, which in turn sought the Law Ministry's opinion on the dispute. "The Law Ministry's advise to settle the issue as per law has not helped in resolving the dispute. The standoff has created problems for us as we can negotiate the new wage pact only with the union having the majority status," the official remarked.

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