Article 19: Termination of Employment
19.1 The employment shall be terminated:
a) upon the expiry of the agreed period of service identified in APPENDIX 1;
b) when signing off owing to sickness or injury, after medical examination in accordance with Article 22, but subject to the provision of Article 26.
19.2 The Company may terminate the employment of a seafarer:
a) by giving one month’s written notice to the seafarer;
b) on the misconduct or incompetence of the seafarer in accordance with Article 21.
c) upon the total loss of the ship, or when the ship has been laid up for a
continuous period of at least one month or upon the sale of the ship.
19.3 A seafarer to whom this Agreement applies may terminate employment:
a) by giving one month’s written notice of termination to the Company or the Master of the ship;
b) when, during the course of a voyage it is confirmed that the wife or, in the case of a single person, a parent, has fallen dangerously ill;
c) if the ship is about to sail into a warlike operations area, in accordance with Article 17 of this Agreement;
d) if the seafarer was employed for a specified voyage on a specified ship, and the voyage is subsequently altered substantially, either with regard to duration of trading pattern;
e) if the Ship is certified substandard in relation to the applicable provisions the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) 1974, the International Convention on Loadlines (LL) 1966, the Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping Convention (STCW) 1995, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) or substandard in relation to ILO Convention No. 147, 1976, Minimum Standards in Merchant Ships as supplemented by the Protocol of 1996 and remains so for a period of 30 consecutive days provided that adequate living conditions and provisions are provided on board or ashore. In any event, a Ship shall be regarded as substandard if it is not in possession of the certificates required under either applicable national laws and regulations or international instruments;
f) if the ship has been arrested and has remained under arrest for 30 days;
g) if after any agreed grievance procedure has been invoked, the Company has not complied with the terms of this Agreement;
19.4 A seafarer shall be entitled to receive compensation of two months’ basic pay on termination of their employment in accordance with 19.2(a) and (c), 19.3(c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) above and Article 24.1.
19.5 It shall not be grounds for termination if, during the period of the agreement, the Company transfers the seafarer to another vessel belonging or related to the same owner/manager, on the same rank and wages and all other terms, if the second vessel is engaged on the same or similar voyage patterns. There shall be no loss of earnings or entitlements during the transfer and the Company shall be liable for all costs and subsistence for and during the transfer.
Article 20: Repatriation
20.1 Repatriation shall take place in such a manner that it takes into account the needs and reasonable requirements for comfort of the seafarer.
20.2 During repatriation for normal reasons, the Company shall be liable for the following costs:
a) payment of basic wages between the time of discharge and the arrival of the seafarer at their place of original engagement or home;
b) the cost of maintaining the seafarer ashore until repatriation takes place;
c) reasonable personal travel and subsistence costs during the travel period;
d) transport of the seafarer’s personal effects up to the amount allowed free of charge by the relevant carrier.
20.3 A seafarer shall be entitled to repatriation at the Company’s expense on termination of employment as per Article 19 except where such termination arises under Clause 19.2(b) and 19.3(a).
Article 21: Misconduct
21.1 The Company may terminate the employment of a seafarer following an act of misconduct or incompetence which gives rise to a lawful entitlement to dismissal, provided that the Company shall, where possible, prior to dismissal, give written notice to the seafarer specifying the misconduct or incompetence which has been the cause of the dismissal.
21.2 In the event of the dismissal of a seafarer in accordance with this clause, the Company shall be entitled to recover from that seafarer’s balance of wages the costs involved with repatriating the seafarer together with such costs incurred by the Company as are directly attributable to the seafarers proven misconduct. Such costs do not, however, include the costs of providing a replacement for the dismissed seafarer.
21.3 For the purpose of this Agreement, refusal by any seafarer to obey an order to sail the ship shall not amount to misconduct of the seafarer where:
a) the ship is unseaworthy or otherwise substandard as defined in Clause 19.3 e);
b) for any reason it would be unlawful for the ship to sail;
c) the seafarer has a genuine grievance against the Company in relation to the implementation of this Agreement and has complied in full with the terms of the Company’s grievance procedure, or
d) the seafarer refuses to sail into a warlike area.
Article 22: Medical Attention 22.1 A seafarer shall be entitled to immediate medical attention when required. 22.2 A seafarer who is hospitalised abroad owing to sickness or injury shall be entitled to medical attention (including hospitalisation) at the Company’s expense for as long as such attention is required or until the seafarer is repatriated to the port of engagement, whichever is the earlier. 22.3 A seafarer repatriated to their port of engagement, unfit as a result of sickness or injury, shall be entitled to medical attention (including hospitalisation) at the Company’s expense: a) in the case of sickness, for up to 130 days after repatriation, subject to the submission of satisfactory medical reports. b) in the case of injury, for so long as medical attention is required or until a medical determination is made in accordance with clause 25.2 concerning permanent disability. 22.4 Proof of continued entitlement to medical attention shall be by submission of satisfactory medical reports, endorsed.
Article 23: Sick Pay 23.1 When a seafarer is landed at any port because of sickness or injury payment of their basic wages shall continue until they have been repatriated at the Company’s expense as specified in Article 20. 23.2 Thereafter the seafarers shall be entitled to sick pay at the rate equivalent to their basic wage while they remain sick up to a maximum of 130 days. 23.3 However, in the event of incapacity due to an accident the basic wages shall be paid until the injured seafarer has been cured or until a medical determination is made in accordance with clause 25.2 concerning permanent disability. 23.4 Proof of continued entitlement to sick pay shall be by submission of satisfactory medical reports, endorsed, where necessary, by a Company appointed doctor. If a doctor appointed by or on behalf of the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be nominated jointly between the Company and the Union and the decision of this doctor shall be final and binding on both parties.
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