Section 5(1) in The Merchant Shipping (Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers) Rules, 2016
(1)The recruitment and placement service provider including the deemed Recruitment and Placement Services shall,-(a)maintain an up-to-date record of all seafarers recruited or placed through it, which shall be available for an inspection by the inspecting authority, as and when required;(b)ensure that its management and staff are adequately trained and have relevant knowledge of the maritime industry to the extent of the duties assigned to them in this context;(c)ensure that seafarers recruited or placed by it are informed of their rights and duties under their employment agreements, prior to or in the process of their engagement and that proper arrangements are made for such seafarers to examine their employment agreements before and after they are signed on and also that they are provided with copies of the said agreements;(d)verify that seafarers recruited or placed by them are qualified and hold the documents necessary for the jobs concerned, and that the seafarers' employment agreements are in accordance with the applicable flag State laws and regulations and any collective bargaining agreement that forms part of their employment agreements;(e)ensure, as far as practicable, that the ship owner has the means to protect such seafarers from being stranded in a port; and in such an event shall make adequate provisions for the repatriation of a stranded seafarer along with his maintenance and required emergency medical assistance prior to repatriation and the transportation of the mortal remains of a seafarer in the event of his death, and it shall also furnish a bank guarantee to cover the cost of repatriation of the seafarer in an event of his abandonment and being stranded;(f)examine promptly and adequately and respond to any complaint concerning its activities and inform the Director-General about any unresolved complaint;(g)establish a system of protection, by way of a bank guarantee to compensate seafarers for any monetary loss that they may incur as a result of the failure of a recruitment and placement service and the relevant ship owner under the seafarers employment agreement to meet its obligation to them;(h)ensure that no means or mechanism or lists are used to prevent or deter seafarers from gaining an employment for which they are qualified;(i)ensure that no fees or other charges is borne, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the seafarer, other than the cost to the seafarers in obtaining a medical certificates, seafarer's book and passport or other similar personal travel documents, provided that the cost of visa, and charges for pre-sign on and post - sign off medical examination, wherever required, shall be borne by the ship owner;(j)ensure that any incident or casualty on-board causing injury (excluding minor injuries) or death, disappearance, loss overboard or homicide by or of an Indian National, is reported to the Director-General, at the earliest and not later than twenty-four hours of the receipt of such information;(k)develop and maintain operational practices to verify the seafarers' medical examination, identity documents and such other items as may be required for seafarers to gain an employment;(l)maintain, with due regard to the right to privacy and need to protect confidentiality, full and complete records of the seafarers covered by their recruitment and placement system, which should include but not be limited to-(i)the seafarers' qualifications;(ii)record of employment;(iii)personal data relevant to employment; and(iv)medical data relevant to employment;(m)maintain up-to-date lists of the ships, owned by the ship owners for which the recruitment and placement service provides seafarers and ensure that there are reasonable means by which the ships can be contacted in an emergency, at all hours;(n)ensure that seafarers are not subject to exploitation by their personnel with regard to offer of engagement on particular ships or by particular companies;(o)put in place the procedures to prevent the opportunities for exploitation of seafarers arising from the issue of joining advances or any other financial transaction between the ship owner and the seafarer which are handled by the recruitment and placement service;(p)clearly publicise cost, if any, which seafarer is expected to bear in the recruitment process;(q)ensure that the seafarers are informed of any particular condition applicable to the jobs for which they are to be engaged and of the particular ship owners policies relating to their employment;(r)ensure that the procedures followed while dealing with cases of incompetence or indiscipline are consistent with the principles of natural justice, the law of the land and practice and, wherever applicable, with collective bargaining agreements;(s)ensure, that all mandatory certificates and documents submitted for employment are up to date and have not been fraudulently obtained and that employment references are verified;(t)ensure that requests for information or advice by families of seafarers while the seafarers are at sea are dealt with promptly and sympathetically and at no cost to the seafarers;(u)verify that the labour conditions on ships where seafarers are placed are in conformity with applicable collective bargaining agreements concluded between a ship owner and a representative seafarers organisation;(v)ensure that the terms and conditions of employment to seafarers comply with applicable laws or regulations or collective bargaining agreements;(w)endeavour that the death compensation or disability compensation are paid by the ship owner without undue delay;(x)ensure that a copy of the licence granted under these rules is prominently displayed at the premises of the recruitment and placement service at a place accessible to public;(y)ensure that the number, date of issue and the validity period, of the licence are mentioned in all of their advertisements published and the licence number is mentioned in all its communications;(z)ensure that it sends the reminder to the Director for its annual inspection, three months before its due date and be prepared for the same.
