China’s Ministry of Transport and Shanghai city hold China Seafarers Session on June 25, 2012. Shanghai will firstly implement the Seafarers Collective Labor Agreement, Standard Labor Contract and Boarding Agreement in the domestic. It is a human resource measure for achieving the strategic goal that “Establish International Shipping Center in Shanghai”.

Yesterday in Shanghai, China Maritime Bureau of China’s Ministry of Transport announce that the June 25 of each year will be named as “Day of the Seafarer” which is stipulated by the International Maritime Organization in Contracting States Diplomacy Congress of “International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers” in 2010. China is one of the seafarer leading powers and now has about 650,000 seafarers who undertake 93% national foreign trade transportation tasks. Thus the China’s Ministry of Transport and Shanghai city decide to hold the China Seafarers Session today for “Focus on the Seafarer Right Protection and Build Harmonious Maritime Labor Relation”.

The features of the seafarers are liquidity, risk and professional. So in order to protect the seafarer right and stabilize the seafarer steam, in 2009, our country has established the tripartite coordination mechanism in respect to the seafarer right protection which is regulated by the China’s Ministry of Transport, Seafarers Labor Union and China Ship-owners Association. The above institutions represent the rights of government, seafarers and enterprises. Meanwhile, China has regulated that the provinces and cities can establish the relevant coordination mechanism subject to the local conditions.

Shanghai Maritime Bureau declares that it has actively promoted the establishing of tripartite coordination mechanism in Shanghai local level. With thoughtful preparation, Shanghai Maritime Bureau, Shanghai Transport, Port and Shipping Labor Union, China Ship-owners Association Shanghai Branch will sign the Shanghai Seafarers Collective Labor Agreement, Standard Labor Contract and Boarding Agreement in the China Seafarers Session today. So Shanghai will be the first city to implement the Seafarers Collective Labor Agreement, which is in favor of the Shanghai to establish the International Shipping Center and establish favorable human resource environment.