WJ5.45 Conditions of employment for crew (17/11/2014)

WJ5.45.1 Vessel Working and Living Conditions

The employer must ensure that facilities and provisions for the working and living conditions of foreign crew on board vessels at least meet:

1. flag state safety standard, and
2. any applicable safety, marine protection, crew living and hygiene standards required by the Director of Maritime New Zealand, including (but not limited to) that:
   1. all crew have access to sufficient fresh water for their needs, including hot water;
   2. adequate food (quantity and type) is provided;
   3. crew accommodation is clean and dry;
   4. all crew have their own bed and suitable bedding;
   5. washing facilities and toilets are sufficient for the number of crew on board;
   6. the vessel carries adequate medical stores;
   7. at least one crew member holds suitable "ship’s medic" qualifications;
   8. crew are provided with suitable protective clothing and equipment to perform their duties; and
   9. vessel safety and emergency drills are carried out on a regular basis.

      Note: For New Zealand vessels, ‘flag state safety standards’ includes the legislative and regulatory standards in the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

WJ5.45.5 Foreign Crew Welfare

1. The New Zealand employer or the New Zealand Charter Party (NZCP) must ensure that foreign crew have access to the following services:
   1. the NZCP (where applicable);
   2. the manning agent (where applicable);
   3. medical and dental treatment;
   4. assistance with banking services, if requested;
   5. translation services, if requested;
   6. mail service; and
   7. NZ government agencies (i.e. the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, Police, Customs, Primary Industry) if requested
2. The NZCP must ensure that their representative is present at the vessel for port calls, and that the representative is accessible to foreign crew at that time.

WJ5.45.10 Employment Agreements

The employer must ensure that the foreign crew members’ employment agreements meet the following requirements:

1. Where the employer is a New Zealand company, the employment agreement must be under the jurisdiction of New Zealand and made in accordance with the Employment Relations Act 2000.
2. Where the employer is not a New Zealand company the employment agreement must contain the standard principles set out in Appendix 9 of the Immigration Operational Manual reflecting the requirements for such agreements contained in the Employment Relations Act 2000.
3. Where the vessel is operating under a New Zealand flag, the employment agreement must be under the jurisdiction of New Zealand and made in accordance with the Employment Relations Act 2000.

WJ5.45.15 Minimum remuneration

1. Foreign crew must be paid at least the New Zealand minimum statutory hourly wage plus $2 per hour:
   1. for all hours worked; and
   2. never for less than 42 hours per week averaged over the course of their engagement.

      Note: The current New Zealand minimum statutory hourly wage under the Minimum Wage Act 1983 can be found at www.dol.govt.nz/er/pay/minimumwage/.

2. The only allowable deductions that can be taken from foreign crew remuneration are:
   1. food (calculated at a maximum of 10% of hours worked multiplied by the minimum wage);
   2. airfares to and from New Zealand; and
   3. Immigration New Zealand work visa application fees.

      Note: Deductions must be based on actual, reasonable, verified expenses.
      Genuine and verified personal expenses such as cigarettes, phone cards and non-protective clothing (effectively personal wage advances and not connected with the work) are allowed and will not be treated as deductions.

3. Allowable deductions cannot bring the hourly wage below the New Zealand minimum statutory wage for all hours worked.

WJ5.45.20 Frequency of remuneration payments

1. Crew must receive at least the minimum remuneration guaranteed under WJ5.45.15(a)(ii), less deductions provided for in WJ5.45.15(b), in regular periodic payments, either monthly or at every port call as specified in each crew’s employment agreement.
2. Where crew have only received the minimum remuneration at (a), they must be paid all outstanding wages for any hours worked above the 42 hours per week, in line with WJ5.45.15(a)(i), at least 24 hours before departing New Zealand.

WJ5.45.25 Payment of crew wages

1. The employer (if it is a New Zealand company) or the NZCP must make a personal, individual New Zealand bank account available to each foreign crew member.
2. The default wage payment method in foreign crew’s employment agreements must be direct credit into the New Zealand bank account detailed above.
3. Foreign crew members who elect to receive wage payments in cash instead of using the New Zealand bank account provided, must notify the employer (and the NZCP if the employer is a foreign company) of their decision in writing in their own language.

   Note: It is solely at the foreign crew member’s discretion to refuse to use this New Zealand bank account.

4. The employer, the NZCP, manning agents, crew representatives, and any person associated with them, may not have access to, or Power of Attorney over, any foreign crew member’s New Zealand bank account.
5. Where a foreign crew member refuses to use the available New Zealand bank account, payment of wages must be made directly to them in cash, in New Zealand.
6. Where payment is made in cash in a foreign currency, the exchange rate used must be recorded, and notified to the foreign crew member at the time the payment is made.
7. Foreign crew members must receive a final payslip at least 24 hours before their departure from New Zealand so that they have the opportunity to contact and meet with their authorised representative before departing New Zealand (see WJ5.50).

Effective 17/11/2014