Which regimes are seafarers working on Vietnamese-flagged entitled to?

According to Decree No. 121/2014/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, seafarer means any person who is employed or engaged to work in any capacity on board a ship upon his/her satisfaction of relevant requirements and standards as regulated by laws.

Seafarers working on Vietnamese-flagged ships will enjoy the following labor regimes:

1. Wages, allowances and other incomes

Wages, allowances and other incomes of seafarers shall be paid in cash or transferred to bank accounts of seafarers or their legal beneficiaries. If payments are made through bank transfer, the shipowner and the seafarer must reach an agreement on the service fees relating to the opening, money transfer and maintenance of bank accounts as regulated by laws.

2. Hours of work and hours of rest

- Hours of work shall be arranged according to the shift-work system, providing uninterrupted 24-hour performance of duties every day, including weekly days of rest and public holidays.

- Hours of rest shall be regulated as follows:

+ Minimum hours of rest shall not be less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period, and 77 hours in any 07-day period;

+ Hours of rest in the 24-hour period may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least 06 hours, and the interval between two consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours;

+ Any 24-hour period is counted from the beginning or the end of a rest period.

3. Annual leave and public holidays

- Seafarers working on board ships shall be given paid annual leave and public holidays.

- The annual leave shall be calculated on the basis of a minimum of 2.5 calendar days per month of employment. Public and customary holidays, compassionate leave and leave without pay as regulated by laws shall not be counted as part of annual leave.

- Any agreement to forgo the minimum annual leave shall be prohibited.

4. Repatriation

Shipowners take responsibility for repatriation arrangements by appropriate and expeditious means. The repatriation destination is the place prescribed in the seafarers’ employment agreement or the seafarer’s place of residence.

5. Food and drinking water

- The shipowner shall provide seafarers working on board the ship with free of charge food and drinking water of appropriate quality, nutritional value and quantity, meeting food safety requirements as well as religious requirements and cultural practices of seafarers.

- The shipowner shall be responsible for assigning the ship’s chief cook and catering staff providing meals for seafarers working on board the ship. The ship’s chief cook and catering staff are not required on ships operating with a prescribed manning of less than 10 seafarers.

6. Medical care on board ship and ashore

Seafarers shall be provided free of charge with prompt and adequate health protection and medical care while they are on board ships or landed in any foreign ports.

View more details at Decree No. 121/2014/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from March 01, 2015.

Le Hai

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