In the first days of 2016, the Gromov family received terrible news: unexpectedly, the husband and father Alexander Gromov, a well-known and respected sea Captain, suddenly passed away on board a ship in Australia.
Some time later, the family of the deceased Captain, his wife, son and daughter, wishing to settle the issue with the death in service benefit, independently applied to the Company, but their claim was denied. The Shipowner reasoned the denial with argument that the death of Captain Gromov came naturally. Having been refused, the family decided to enlist the assistance of the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine, where Captain Gromov had been registered.
The son of Alexander Gromov Andrey, also a seafarer and the MTWTU member said, “Our friends and colleagues recommended us many different lawyers and charitable foundations that supposedly could’ve helped us in our problem. But we decided not to take risks and applied to the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine for assistance. I know many examples when it was the MTWTU that helped seafarers and did it honestly and openly”.
The MTWTU immediately began to work. “The Captain Gromov case was of major importance for the Trade Union”, said MTWTU First Vice Chairman Oleg Grygoriuk. “Captain Gromov devoted 15 years of his life to the Company he worked for. Thanks to his great mastery, wealth of experience and indomitable energy he transformed the Company's most sea-tired vessels into the flagships of its vast fleet. The Captain worked on a health-worn schedule: 8 weeks at sea, 8 weeks on shore, each time for two days flying to Australia for boarding, without actually having time to recover and rest on his return home. And after everything he has done for the benefit of the Company, after so many years of work and dedication – a refusal to satisfy the right provided not just by the labor contract, but also by the collective agreement, let alone the national legislation. We couldn’t help but come to the rescue”.
The Captain Gromov case left no one indifferent: besides the MTWTU inspectors and lawyers, assistance was provided by the ITF affiliated Maritime Union of Australia. Throughout a year, the MTWTU together with the Gromov family faced not only denials of the claim: immediately after the first letter to the Shipowner, the Company began a turnover of personnel. Thus the new employees, not dedicated to the course of affairs, were replacing the old ones, with whom the Union was in correspondence, therefore the MTWTU several times had to start emails exchange from the very beginning.
Andrey Gromov admits that at times the family felt like giving up, yet the Union’s efforts were giving some confidence in their chance. And now, a year after the family applied to the MTWTU, we are happy to inform our readers that the Gromov family has successfully received the full compensation payment in accordance with the norms of Australia's labor laws. The amount of compensation received is approximately 450,000 USD.
“Despite the fact that the Trade Union, unfortunately, constantly receives similar applications from the families of deceased seafarers, we never had such a large case with such a substantial compensation amount. Of course, we had some difficulties, but we are glad that now it’s all over. We had to mobilize our colleagues in Australia, and that’s where our good friendly relations with the Maritime Union of Australia played a great role. By resolving this issue, we once again proved in practice what we always declare: solidarity between the ITF affiliated trade unions exists and it works”, Oleg Grygoriuk stressed.
“It was important for us to receive compensation, since I have a younger sister who is 10 years old. These funds are meant for her. My father really wanted her to follow in the footsteps of her grandparents and finish medical university. Now when everything has been left behind, this dream has a future”, Andrey Gromov said.
“Today the attitude towards trade unions is ambivalent”, said Oleg Grygoriuk, “given the fact that a huge number of trade unions are created not to protect seafarers, but just the opposite, to capitalize on them. This problem today is extremely urgent on the agenda: many seafarers and their families, in the event of injury or death on board, fall straight into the hands of such “experts” who hunt for people in trouble, offering their “assistance” for a significant reward. We want to warn and protect a Ukrainian seafarer, we want him to know that he can always apply to us for a free consultation, regardless of whether he is registered with the MTWTU or not. We exist to ensure the observance of our seafarers’ rights and with the cases like this we prove that we operate honestly and correctly”.
Fortunately, the Gromov family showed their consciousness and did not apply to incomprehensible “helpers”. Otherwise, the family would have to pay the lawyers about 20% of the compensation amount, which is about 90,000 USD. Andrey Gromov noted: “I admit that I was surprised when, after applying to the MTWTU, I learned that our family would not incur any financial costs. The Trade Union provides free assistance in resolving the problematic situations the MTWTU seafarers find themselves in, despite of seafarers’ ranks. The MTWTU membership gives a number of advantages: in addition to assistance in difficult times, the Union constantly conducts awareness-raising and entertainment activities, and also worries about the social life of seamen. Our family is very grateful that the MTWTU did not give up and got the job done. This is the real victory of the Trade Union”.
* Names of family members have been changed
