If passed into law, the Department of Migrant Workers would be tasked to review and approve the standard employment contract to ensure its provisions adhere to or protect the rights of seafarers.
In case of a pandemic or endemic, the bill states that seafarers should be entitled to “medical care, board and lodging for periods spent by a seafarer in quarantine or self-isolation,” as well as “hospitalization and medical treatment when the seafarer is sick or infected – until declared as fully recovered.”
They would also be entitled to adequate compensation in the case of injury, loss or unemployment arising from the ship’s loss or foundering, in accordance with the SEC or the collective bargaining agreement. The Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration would also be mandated to establish seafarer welfare facilities or centers in major crew-change ports, specifically in Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, and other areas.
The bill also proposes the creation of a “one stop shop” for seafarers, which would have representatives from government agencies that process or issue licenses, permits, clearances, and other documents required by seafarers.