Shipowners’ organisation Danish Shipping has agreed a new pay deal with domestic vessel officers after protracted talks.

The process has taken longer than usual due to difficult negotiating conditions during the pandemic, but Danish Shipping said it was “satisfied” with the result.

Pen was put to paper on new deals on Monday to regulate pay and working conditions, after a previous agreement expired on 1 April last year.

Unions Maskinmestrenes Forening and Metal Maritime have also signed up.

“It has in many ways been a different process, where the negotiations for long periods have had to run virtually, but I would like to acknowledge the cooperation, which has led to us today finally being able to sign a new agreement,” said Anne W Trolle, director of labour markets, recruitment and training at Danish Shipping.

The three-year renewal sees basic salaries and pension contributions increase by 7.2% over the period.

Overtime payments will also rise, by 4.8%.

Backdated deal

The wage rise involves a 5% hike backdated to 1 April and another rise of 2.2% on 1 April of next year. Overtime will be split into a 3.2% increase this year and a 1.6% rise next April.

The pension rise will be backdated to April 2020.

Parental leave has also been extended by three weeks to bring this in line with the rest of Denmark.

“I am pleased that with the agreement here we also provide the opportunity for a longer parental leave — both for mothers and fathers. Thus, we are also ready to live up to the upcoming requirement for earmarked leave for fathers,” added Trolle.

ILO talks broke down

In April, global pay talks on setting a new minimum wage for seafarers at the International Labour Organization broke down.

Representatives for the shipowners’ side said that labour representatives rejected their proposal to increase the minimum wage by an aggregate 3% over three years, bumping the compensation floor for crews from $641 per month to $660 by 1 January 2024.

Nautilus International secretary general Mark Dickinson called the shipowners’ proposal “an 11th hour-offer of a pay cut”.