Start Improving Working Conditions for Domestic Seafarers

At today’s press conference, the representatives of the Seafarers' Union of Croatia stated that domestic ship operators should improve salaries, working and safety conditions for domestic seafarers instead of employing foreign seafarers who are often willing to work for less money.

The Union's president Vladimir Svalina said that the ship operators' union "Mare Nostrum" had recently asked the Ministry of the Sea to allow the employment of 120 low-qualified foreign seafarers – but the Ministry had turned them down.

Furthermore, the ship operators had not informed the Seafarers' Union about that project which resulted in the fact that the necessary social dialogue did not occur.

The seafarers claim that the "Mare Nostrum" will not withdraw the demand, adding that it was just a kind of test for the future employment of foreigners. They strongly believe that the proclaimed changes regarding the Act on foreigners will not adequately protect domestic seafarers.

It was also said that there were only two official regional employment offices, in Rijeka and in Split, in charge for the recruiting of seafarers and that only a small number of seafarers were currently registered in those offices. Based on that situation many of them seek to find employment via various agencies in an almost non-legal way, for years. All of that might create the impression that there are no unemployed seafarers in Croatia, and based on that the ship operators demand the hiring of foreign workers.

The representatives of the Seafarers’ Union also explained that it would be quite easy to additionally educate many unemployed workers, by passing only one exam they might be easily turned into seafarers of a lower rank – but for that there was no real initiative.

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