Party and Government "'Improvement of Paid Leave for Seafarers' Joint Declaration by Labor, Management, and Government" 추진

Tripartite Declaration After 15 Years Since 2008

The People Power Party and the government have decided to promote a tripartite joint declaration to improve paid leave for seafarers on foreign-going vessels.

On the morning of the 7th, Park Dae-chul, chairman of the Policy Committee, said at a briefing on the results of the 'Civil-Government-Party Council for Seafarer Job Innovation' held at the National Assembly, "We have decided to raise the length of service and paid leave days for foreign-going vessel seafarers, who have to live apart from their families and society for long periods, to a global standard level."

Chairman Park explained, "In major countries such as Europe and Japan, foreign-going vessels allow seafarers to serve on board for 3 to 4 months followed by more than 2 months of paid leave, and for third-class seafarers, 3 months on board followed by 3 months of leave. However, in South Korea, since the 2008 tripartite joint declaration, foreign-going vessels have remained at 6 months on board and 2 months leave. Since the civil-government-party consensus was confirmed today, it was decided to promptly resolve improvements to service periods and paid leave through consultation channels between labor and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and to promote a tripartite joint declaration for the first time in 15 years."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Seong-yong, chairman of the National Federation of Maritime Seafarers' Unions, commented on the tripartite declaration, saying, "Some parts are being agreed upon through the Economic and Social Labor Council, and if necessary, it is appropriate for the tripartite to handle other parts. Compared to other industries, labor-management-government relations in shipping have been peaceful and well-communicated," he added.

In addition, the party and government agreed to improve working conditions to resolve the seafarer manpower shortage. They plan to improve onboard internet access so that SNS and video calls can be used at the same level as onshore, and to enact a law concerning seafarers' labor standards.

Furthermore, to foster seafarers, they will allow flexible transitions between land and sea work and expand training programs not only for existing maritime universities but also for general job seekers.

The council meeting was also attended by private sector participants including Kim Ji-su, first mate of Pan Ocean, Yang Chang-ho, full-time vice chairman of the Korea Shipping Association, and Chairman Park. It is known that Mate Kim and Chairman Park requested the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to expand the non-taxable range of earned income. Vice Chairman Yang proposed establishing a Seafarer Development Fund using loss reduction amounts to alleviate the seafarer manpower shortage and encourage employment on national vessels.

Chairman Park emphasized, "The remarkable development of the Republic of Korea today is due to the hard work and dedication of seafarers who handle 99.7% of our trade volume and are responsible for seafood production. The government, shipping industry, and labor sector must unite to give pride and hope to young people who become seafarers with dreams of the blue sea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.