PART IV
CONDITIONS OF SEAFARERS’ EMPLOYMENT
Shipowners to provide seafarers with safe and secure workplace
13.  Subject to this Act, it shall be the duty and obligation of every shipowner to provide and ensure that every seafarer in his employment shall be provided, in accordance with the requirements of this Act and any other written law, with —
(a)a safe and secure workplace that complies with safety standards prescribed by written law;
(b)fair terms of employment;
(c)decent working and living conditions on board ship; and
(d)health protection, medical care and welfare measures prescribed by written law.
Seafarer’s employment agreement
14.—(1)  No person shall cause or permit any person without a seafarer’s employment agreement to be employed as a seafarer on a ship.
(2)  Every shipowner shall —
(a)ensure that the seafarer’s employment agreement is read over and explained to the seafarer;
(b)ascertain that the seafarer understands the agreement;
(c)ensure that the seafarer has been given an opportunity to examine and seek advice on the agreement before he signs it; and
(d)ensure that the agreement is signed by both the seafarer and by the shipowner or on behalf of the shipowner.
(3)  The master or shipowner shall cause to be supplied to the seafarer a signed original of the seafarer’s employment agreement under which the seafarer is employed.
(4)  If a seafarer’s employment agreement is not in English, a copy of the standard form of the seafarer’s employment agreement shall be available in English on board ship.
(5)  Where a collective agreement forms all or part of a seafarer’s employment agreement, a copy of that collective agreement shall be available on board ship and, where that collective agreement is not in English, the portions of that collective agreement that are subject to an inspection in port as specified in the Second Schedule shall also be available in English.
(6)  The Authority may prescribe the form of and the matters to be included in the seafarer’s employment agreement and the particulars to be entered into it.
(7)  Any term of a seafarer’s employment agreement that imposes a condition of service which is less favourable to a seafarer than any of the terms contained in this Act shall be unenforceable by the shipowner to the extent that it is so less favourable.
(8)  Any term in an employment agreement providing for the seafarer to forego any part of the minimum annual leave prescribed under section 22 shall be unenforceable in so far as it purports to deprive the seafarer of that right or to remove or reduce the liability of the shipowner to grant the minimum annual leave prescribed under this Part except under such circumstances as may be prescribed by the Authority.
(9)  Either party to a seafarer’s employment agreement may at any time give to the other party notice of his intention to terminate the agreement.
(10)  The length of such notice shall be the same for both the shipowner and the seafarer and shall be in accordance with the seafarer’s employment agreement, provided that such notice shall, except in circumstances prescribed under subsection (13)(c), not be less than 7 days.
(11)  Such notice shall be written and may be given at any time, and the day on which the notice is given shall be included in the period of the notice.
(12)  Either party to the seafarer’s employment agreement may, without waiting for the expiry of the notice referred to in subsection (10), terminate the agreement by paying to the other party a sum equal to the amount of salary at the gross rate of pay which would have accrued to the seafarer during the period of the notice.
(13)  The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for all matters relating to the engagement and discharge of seafarers, including the following matters:
(a)the categories of seafarer’s employment agreements;
(b)discharge books and other records of employment;
(c)circumstances under which a notice period shorter than the minimum notice period of 7 days may be permitted.
(14)  Any person who employs a seafarer or enters into a seafarer’s employment agreement with a seafarer in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Notification of crew list
15.—(1)  A shipowner and the master shall notify the Authority, in the prescribed manner, of the details of seafarers who are employed on a ship on the following occasions:
(a)when the ship is registered, provisionally or otherwise, under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 179);
(b)when a seafarer’s employment agreement is entered into with any seafarer;
(c)when any term of the seafarer’s employment agreement of a seafarer employed on the ship is altered;
(d)when a seafarer is discharged from the ship.
(2)  Any shipowner or master who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Hours of rest
16.—(1)  Every shipowner shall ensure that every seafarer in his employment is given the hours of rest in accordance with this section.
(2)  The minimum hours of rest shall be 10 hours in any 24‑hour period and 77 hours in any 7‑day period.
(3)  The minimum hours of rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods, one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length, and the interval between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours.
(4)  Where a seafarer is employed in work during hours of rest, he shall be compensated with an equivalent period of rest in the next rest period, or if not possible, as soon as practicable after that.
(5)  No person shall cause or permit payment to be made in lieu of hours of rest.
(6)  The master shall cause —
(a)the schedule of service at sea and service in port;
(b)the minimum hours of rest required by this Act; and
(c)all other information on working arrangements that may be required by the Director from time to time,
for every position to be displayed in English and the working language or languages of the ship using such format as may be prescribed by the Authority and posted in an easily accessible place on board the ship.
(7)  The master shall maintain a record of each seafarer’s daily hours of rest on board the ship, which shall —
(a)be in a standardised format that may be prescribed by the Authority; and
(b)be in English and, if the working language of the ship is not English, also be in the working language or languages of the ship.
(8)  The master shall at the end of each month cause a seafarer to be given a record of his daily hours of rest referred to in subsection (7) that has been endorsed by or on behalf of the master.
(9)  The Director may, in any particular case, permit exceptions to the hours of rest set out in this section in accordance with and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
(10)  Nothing in this section shall prevent the master from suspending a seafarer’s hours of rest for the purposes of performing work that is necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other ships or persons in distress at sea provided that the seafarer is compensated with an equivalent period of rest as soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored.
(11)  Any shipowner who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
Restriction on working hours for young seafarer
17.—(1)  Subject to section 16(10) and subsection (2) —
(a)no person shall require any young seafarer to work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week; and
(b)a shipowner and the master shall ensure that a young seafarer is —
(i)allowed sufficient time for all meals and a break of at least one hour for the main meal of the day; and
(ii)allowed a 15-minute rest period as soon as practicable following every 2 hours of continuous work.
(2)  A young seafarer may be required to work under conditions that do not comply with subsection (1) if the master is of the opinion that —
(a)the effective training of the young seafarer in accordance with established programmes and schedules would be impaired; or
(b)the requirements of subsection (1) are impracticable for the young seafarer assigned to watchkeeping duties or working on a rostered shift-work system in the deck, engine room or catering departments.
(3)  The master shall keep a record of all instances where a young seafarer is required under subsection (2) to work under conditions that do not comply with subsection (1), and the record shall state the reasons and be signed by the master.
Restriction on night work for young seafarer
18.—(1)  Subject to subsection (2), no person shall cause or permit any young seafarer to be employed in any kind of night work on any ship.
(2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Director may give approval for a young seafarer to be employed in night work if the Director is of the opinion that —
(a)the effective training of the young seafarer in accordance with established programmes and schedules would be impaired; or
(b)the specific nature of the work or a recognised training programme requires that the young seafarer perform duties at night and the Director has determined that the work will not be detrimental to his health or well-being.
(3)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(4)  In this section, “night work” means work done between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the following morning according to the time zone the ship is in.
Prohibition on hazardous work for young seafarer
19.—(1)  No person shall cause or permit any young seafarer to be employed in any hazardous work on any ship.
(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(3)  In this section, “hazardous work” means any of the following work:
(a)lifting, moving or carrying of heavy loads or objects;
(b)entry into boilers, tanks and cofferdams;
(c)exposure to harmful noise and vibration levels;
(d)operating hoisting and other power machinery and tools, or acting as signallers to operators of such equipment;
(e)handling mooring or tow lines or ground tackle;
(f)rigging;
(g)work aloft or on deck in heavy weather;
(h)servicing of electrical equipment;
(i)exposure to potentially harmful materials or harmful physical agents such as dangerous or toxic substances and ionising radiation;
(j)the cleaning of catering machinery;
(k)the handling or taking charge of ship’s boats.
Wages
20.—(1)  Except as otherwise provided in this Act or any other written law, the wages due to a seafarer under a seafarer’s employment agreement shall be paid to him in full on a monthly basis, before the expiry of the last day of the month in respect of which the salary is payable.
(2)  If any amount which, under subsection (1), is payable to a seafarer is not paid at the time at which it is so payable, the seafarer shall be entitled to wages at the rate last payable under the seafarer’s employment agreement for every day on which it remains unpaid until the full amount is paid.
(3)  Subsection (2) shall not apply if the failure to pay was due to any reasonable dispute as to liability or to the act or default of the seafarer or to any other cause, not being the wrongful act or default of the person liable to pay his wages or of his employee or agent.
(4)  The master of a ship shall deliver to each seafarer employed on the ship under a seafarer’s employment agreement, a monthly account of wages due to him under that agreement, including but not limited to basic wage, basic leave wage, overtime pay and other allowances stated in the agreement, and additional payments and deductions subject to which the wages are payable (referred to in this section as the account).
(5)  Where the payment is made in a currency or at a rate that is different from the one agreed to, the account should also indicate the rate of exchange used, which shall either be the prevailing market rate of the bank designated by the seafarer or the exchange rate set out in the collective agreement for the duration of the agreement, provided that such exchange rate is not unfavourable to the seafarer.
(6)  The account shall indicate that the amounts stated therein are subject to any later adjustment that may be found necessary and shall be delivered before the expiry of the last day of the month in respect of which the salary is payable.
(7)  If the amounts stated in the account require adjustment, the person who employed the seafarer shall deliver to him a further account stating the adjusted amounts, and that account shall be delivered to him before the expiry of the last day of the next month in respect of which the salary is payable.
(8)  Any person who fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with subsection (4), (6) or (7) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Allotment notes
21.—(1)  Subject to this section, a seafarer may, by means of an allotment note, allot directly to any person or persons nominated by the seafarer, by bank transfer or similar means, all or part of the wages to which he will become entitled in the course of his employment on a ship.
(2)  A person to whom any part of a seafarer’s wages has been allotted by an allotment note issued in accordance with this section shall have the right to recover that part in his own name and for that purpose shall have the same remedies as the seafarer has for the recovery of his wages.
(3)  In any proceedings brought by a person named in such an allotment note as the person to whom any part of a seafarer’s wages has been allotted, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the seafarer is entitled to the wages specified in the note and that the allotment has not been varied or cancelled.
(4)  Unless the shipowner and the seafarer otherwise agree —
(a)the first sum payable under an allotment note shall be payable not less than one month from the date on which the allotment note is issued and subsequent sums shall become payable at regular intervals of not less than one month reckoned from the date when the first sum is payable; and
(b)no sum shall be payable under an allotment note before the seafarer has earned any of the wages allotted by it.
(5)  A person providing services for the allotment of wages in accordance with this section may charge the seafarer a fee in accordance with the following conditions:
(a)such fee charged shall be reasonable; and
(b)the exchange rate used shall either be the prevailing market rate of the bank designated by the seafarer or the exchange rate set out in the collective agreement for the duration of the agreement, provided that such exchange rate is not unfavourable to the seafarer.
Entitlement to annual leave
22.—(1)  A seafarer shall be entitled to paid annual leave, taken at such time as may be agreed between the seafarer and the shipowner in accordance with the terms of the seafarer’s employment agreement, of no less than 2.5 days per month of continuous service with the shipowner which shall be in addition to leave that the seafarer is entitled under subsection (4).
(2)  A seafarer shall be entitled to his gross rate of pay for every day of annual leave.
(3)  A seafarer who has served a shipowner for a period shorter than 12 months of continuous service in any year or in the event of termination of employment otherwise than for misconduct, shall be entitled to annual leave in proportion to the number of completed months of service in that year.
(4)  Leave of absence granted for the following purposes shall not be counted as part of a seafarer’s annual leave:
(a)seafarer in transit to or from a ship, or on active standby for immediate deployment;
(b)time-off for illness, injury or maternity;
(c)temporary shore leave by agreement between the shipowner and the seafarer under the seafarer’s employment agreement;
(d)public holidays designated under the Holidays Act (Cap. 126);
(e)absence from work to attend a maritime vocation training course that is approved by the Director;
(f)time spent awaiting repatriation and travel time during repatriation;
(g)leave granted under conditions that may be determined by the Director from time to time.
(5)  Where a seafarer is granted leave of absence without pay by the shipowner at the request of the seafarer, the period of the leave shall be disregarded for the purpose of computing continuous service under this section.
(6)  A seafarer shall be entitled to take annual leave in the place to which he has a substantial connection or is entitled to be repatriated.
(7)  No person shall require a seafarer to take annual leave in a place otherwise than that provided in the seafarer’s employment agreement unless —
(a)the seafarer gives his consent;
(b)the shipowner bears the costs of transporting the seafarer to the place where he was engaged or recruited, whichever is nearer his home; and
(c)the shipowner bears the subsistence and all other directly related costs.
(8)  No person shall recall a seafarer who is on paid annual leave except in cases of extreme emergency as may be determined by the Director from time to time and provided that the seafarer’s consent has been obtained.
(9)  The shipowner shall grant and the seafarer shall take annual leave not later than 12 months after the end of every 12 months of continuous service and any seafarer who fails to take that leave by the end of such period shall thereupon cease to be entitled thereto.
(10)  Subject to subsection (9) and unless otherwise provided in an agreement applicable to the shipowner and the seafarer concerned, the seafarer shall be entitled to an uninterrupted period of annual leave.
(11)  In calculating the proportionate annual leave under subsection (3), any fraction of a day which is less than one‑half of a day shall be disregarded and where the fraction of the day is one‑half or more it shall be regarded as one day.
Repatriation of seafarers
23.—(1)  Subject to subsections (3) and (4), no person who employs a seafarer on a ship shall require the seafarer to work for a period of 12 months or longer before being entitled to repatriation.
(2)  A shipowner shall repatriate a seafarer employed on a ship in the following circumstances:
(a)where the seafarer’s employment agreement of the seafarer concerned has expired;
(b)where the seafarer’s employment agreement has been terminated by the seafarer for justified reasons or by the shipowner;
(c)where the seafarer is no longer able to carry out his duties under his seafarer’s employment agreement or cannot be expected to carry them out, in the following circumstances:
(i)the seafarer has an illness or injury or other medical condition which requires his repatriation when found medically fit to travel;
(ii)the seafarer is taken to any country in the event of shipwreck;
(iii)the shipowner is not able to continue to fulfil his legal or contractual obligations as an employer of the seafarer by reason of insolvency, sale of ship, change of ship’s registration or any other similar reason;
(iv)the ship is bound for a war zone, as defined by written law or the seafarer’s employment agreement, to which the seafarer does not consent to go;
(v)termination or interruption of employment in accordance with an industrial award or collective agreement;
(vi)the seafarer is left behind in any country for any reason.
(3)  A shipowner shall repatriate a young seafarer who has served for 6 months, or any shorter period of time as determined under his seafarer’s employment agreement or a collective agreement, without leave on board a ship that has not returned to his country of residence during that time and will not return to his country of residence in the next 3 months.
(4)  A young seafarer who is found to be unsuited to life at sea after having served on a ship for at least 4 months during his first foreign‑going voyage, shall be given the opportunity to be repatriated at no expense to himself and in accordance with this section from the first suitable port of call in which there are consular services of Singapore or of the state of his nationality or residence.
(5)  A shipowner shall notify the authority of the state which issued the papers enabling the young seafarer concerned to take up seagoing employment, of such repatriation referred to in subsection (4) and the reasons therefor.
(6)  A seafarer shall be entitled to be repatriated to any of the following places with which he has a substantial connection:
(a)the place at which the seafarer agreed to enter into the engagement;
(b)the place stipulated by an applicable collective agreement;
(c)the seafarer’s country of residence;
(d)such other place as may be mutually agreed at the time of engagement;
(e)such other place as may be determined by the Director as appropriate.
(7)  A seafarer shall have a right to choose from among the destinations referred to in subsection (6), the place to which he is to be repatriated.
(8)  A seafarer shall be entitled to be repatriated by appropriate and expeditious means.
(9)  A shipowner shall bear the costs of repatriating a seafarer in his employment until the seafarer is landed at a destination in accordance with subsection (6), including expenses for such items as may be prescribed.
(10)  No person shall require any seafarer to make an advance payment towards the costs of repatriation or be entitled to recover, or to make any deduction for, the costs of repatriation from the seafarer’s wages or other entitlements except where the seafarer has been found after due inquiry by the Director to have been in serious default of his employment obligations.
(11)  Where a seafarer referred to in subsection (2)(c)(ii) or (vi) remains in the country mentioned therein after the end of a period of 3 months, the person who last employed him as a seafarer shall not be liable under this section to make provision for the seafarer’s return or for any matter arising after the end of that period, unless he has, before the end of that period, been under an obligation imposed on him under this section to make provision with respect to the seafarer.
(12)  Where it appears to the Director that a shipowner is unable to make, has failed to make or fails to continue to make provisions necessary for the repatriation of a seafarer in his employment under this section, the Director may, in his discretion, make such provision and recover from the shipowner any costs and expense incurred by the Director in making such provision.
(13)  Nothing in this section shall prejudice any right of a shipowner to recover the costs of repatriation under third-party contractual arrangements.
(14)  A shipowner shall cause a legible copy of this section and any regulations relating to the repatriation of seafarers made under this Act in English, and the working language of the ship if it is not English, to be carried on board the ship and to be made available to seafarers.
Compensation to seafarers in event of wreck or loss of ship, etc.
24.—(1)  Where a ship is wrecked or lost, a seafarer whose employment on the ship is thereby terminated before the date contemplated in the seafarer’s employment agreement under which he is so employed shall, subject to this section, be entitled to wages, at the rate payable under the agreement at the date of the wreck or loss, for every day on which he is unemployed in the 2 months following that date.
(2)  Where a ship is sold or ceases to be registered in Singapore and a seafarer’s employment on the ship is thereby terminated before the date contemplated in the seafarer’s employment agreement under which he is so employed, then, unless otherwise provided in the agreement, the seafarer shall, subject to subsection (3), be entitled to wages at the rate payable under the agreement at the date on which his employment is terminated for every day on which he is unemployed in the 2 months following that date.
(3)  A seafarer shall not be entitled to wages by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) for a day on which he was unemployed, if it is shown —
(a)that the unemployment was not due to the wreck or loss of the ship or, as the case may be, the termination of his employment on the sale of the ship or its ceasing to be registered in Singapore; or
(b)that the seafarer was able to obtain suitable employment for that day but unreasonably refused to take it.
(4)  The master and a seafarer employed on a ship shall have the same lien and remedies for his wages payable under this section, as a seaman has for his wages.
(5)  Nothing in this section shall affect the rights a seafarer may have under any other rule of law.