Life at sea is not easy at all. Beyond isolation and deprivation, new problems have emerged, such as harassment, discrimination, differences in education and culture between crew members. In addition, greater attention must be paid to contracts and legislation, so that, through the support or simple advice of a specialist in the field, extremely critical situations can be avoided.
There is, unfortunately, a prejudice among sailors: I don’t need a union, I’m not a member, so I have no reason to call there. But, when I get into trouble, when I get into trouble, a support would be very good!
What is the basis of this reasoning is difficult to specify, and this is all the more so since the expenses for a “protection shield” that you don’t even know when you will need, more precisely to become a member of the seafarers’ union, are purely symbolic .
The wind of change is blowing
“The conditions for joining the union are the same. Even though life has become more expensive, and all prices have exploded, the dues have remained the same amount as 10 years ago: $70 per year for non-entitled and $100 per year for officers. And we will keep these numbers! The idea is that that little help taken from many is used where and when it is needed.
What everyone needs to know: the union cannot help or intervene financially with non-members, but we have never shied away from advising a seafarer, helping him in other conditions to get his solve problems even if you are not a union member.
We do everything we can to eliminate a prejudice: I’m not a union member, I don’t call there anymore! We do not close the phone of any sailor who has problems on board, all forms of communication are open to us for all sailors. The door is permanently open to everyone!”, Adrian Mihălcioiu, president of the Free Union of Navigators (SLN) and head of the ITF Romania Inspectorate, declared for “Cuget Liber”.
As the wind of change is blowing all over the world, in all fields, even navigation cannot be an exception to the rule.
“Probably, this trade unionism will also be, in the future, of a different nature, not necessarily based on something material. We will probably step into a new era, we are preparing in this sense for an ITF congress, which will take place in the fall. Things will change, the unions affiliated to the ITF must follow some rules, policies. We always followed the drawn line. We are well rated all over the world. We have seafarers who go on ships covered by other colleagues of ours from other unions, and then we give a helping hand there”, explained the head of the ITF Romania Inspectorate.
A matter of mentality
In his opinion, it is not money that creates walls, but the mentality that needs to be changed.
“We have a sufficient number of people, employment contracts. At the union, it is not a financial problem, but a seafarers’ mentality. This must be changed, they must see the union as a helper, and not a consumer!
There were cases when, not contacting the union in time, not having access to professional advice, the consequences were not at all happy for the navigator. We have the experience of what happens in the profession, we work with these cases, and we share the experience with others. We consult the ITF base all the time, we are in a permanent exchange of experience, it is total transparency.
When consulting family or someone who gives their opinion, and not a professional organization, dangerous situations can arise. I repeat: we are not experts in what a master, chief engineer or electrician has to do on board a ship, but we are professionals in defending their rights.
The number of registered seafarers matters less, what is important is the mentality of calling the union when a problem arises and then asking the seafarer if it would not be a good idea to become a union member as well. Let me tell you a secret: if there will be more union members, the contributions – which already have an insignificant value – will be lower.
At the present time, we have somewhere around 5,500 members, a figure that fluctuates slightly. The more we are, the more we will be able to secure the necessary funding for interventions in critical situations”, explained Adrian Mihălcioiu.
