About Us

In the service of seafarers, their families and the global community Registration Certificate No.  10252-(Fed)-LC An affiliate of International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), London, U.K.

 

THE Philippine Seafarers’ Union (PSU) was founded on 12 May 1984 in the busy and noisy port of Cebu City in Central Philippines. The labor leaders who forged an alliance with the licensed and unlicensed crew of a few vessels and dockworkers in order to form a union that would address separately the problems of seafarers were the following Cebu’s legal luminaries: Atty. Democrito T. Mendoza, Atty. Cecilio T. Seno, and Atty. Januario T. Seno.
 
The founding convention was held at the Ybarreta Hall of the ALU Bldg. There were about a hundred labor leaders, seafarers and dockworkers who attended the convention.

 

Three months later, on 23 August 1984, the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) of the Department of Labor and Employment issued to the Philippine Seafarers’ Union (PSU) Registration Certificate Number 10252 (FED)-LC.

 

On 1 October 1994, PSU was conferred the status of “full International Transport Federation (ITF) affiliate”.

After the acceptance of the affiliation of the PSU with the ITF, the union successfully concluded and signed a bilateral agreement with All Japan Seamen’s Union (JSU), covering Japanese flag and FOC vessels beneficially owned in Japan.  The JSU officers headed by Bro. Akira Ohki came over to Manila in late 1994 to negotiate and signed the bilateral agreement.

 

Also in 1995, the ITF Fair Practices Committee (FPC) approved the full text of PSU’s TCC Agreement.

On 21 December 1996, the Philippine Seafarers Union became the Associated Philippine Seafarers Union.

 

The following are the other bilateral agreements or memoranda of cooperation entered into by the PSU:

 

• In March 1995, with the Norwegian unions covering NIS vessels. Officers from the Norwegian unions, e.g., the Norwegian Maritime Officers Association (NMOA), the Norwegian Seamen’s Union (NSU) and the Norwegian Union of Marine Engineers     (NUME) negotiated and signed the bilateral agreement in Manila with the PSU officers;
• In early 1996, with the Singapore Maritime Officers Union     (SMOU) and the Singapore Organization of Seamen (SOS);
• On 11 April 1997, with the Union of International Seamen (UIS)     of the United States of America (USA);
• In August 1998, with the Dutch Seafarers Union (FWZ);
• In early 1999, with the Hong Kong Unions;
• On 1 October 2000, with Officers’ Union of International Seamen (OUIS), also of USA;
• On 9 May 2002, a Memorandum of Cooperation with the National Chinese Seamen’s Union (NCSU);
• On 14 June 2002, a Memorandum of Cooperation with NUMAST-UK;
• On 23 April 2004, a Memorandum of Cooperation with Maritime Union of India (MUI) and National Union of Seamen of India (NUSI).

 

Through PSU’s active participation in international meetings and fora, some very positive developments came about: 1)  PSU was  accepted as full member of the Asian Seafarers Summit chaired by S. Nakanishi of the JSU; 2) PSU was  accepted as full member of the Norwegian/Asian Seafarers Committee (NASCO).
    
The PSU bargains with the shipowners and their agents on behalf of its members. PSU’s collective bargaining agreements conform with the standards established by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Labor Organisation (ILO), and recognized by the Philippine Overseas Employment  Administration (POEA).    

The PSU today is a growing federation of overseas merchant seafarers on board ships trading worldwide.