During the ITF and IBF’s final round of negotiating a collective agreement on September 29th & 30th, 2009 in Manila, an agreement in principle was attained. Due to the international economic crisis, the employers had demanded a ten per cent wage cut. The ITF called for guaranteed employment of ratings from developed economy countries on IBF ships.
The compromise provides for development of a new methodology for wage structures and no changes in the wage scale before this. A working group is scheduled to present findings by mid-2010, and negotiations are suspended until then.
Despite this basic agreement, many issues remain unresolved. Wage cuts, however, were averted for the time being.