SUR assisted the seafarer in getting payments for medical treatment

The Seafarers' Union of Russia (SUR) provided assistance to a Chief Officer faced difficulties obtaining payments and compensation for medical treatment. His health failed him while he was on a voyage this spring.

According to the Kaliningrad Territorial Organization of SUR, in this May, Alexander was on board the vessel KATI off the coast of Latvia. Suddenly he felt unwell: there was pain in his chest, and through the telemedicine consultations, it was possible to assume that he had heart problems. The man was taken by helicopter to a Riga hospital, where doctors confirmed an acute heart attack.

The company paid for both the hospital stay and the surgery performed there. The seafarer continued treatment on the territory of Russia, in St. Petersburg. It was then that the question arose about compensation for medical expenses and getting the payments due under the collective agreement. The company demanded a medical disability certificate, which is issued in our country only to persons officially employed in Russia. In addition, the document is issued only in electronic form, that is, a person only has a piece of paper with a long number in his hands, and all the information concerning the medical treatment, the Russian (not foreign, like the shipowner in question) employer receives only from the Social Fund of Russia system. Meanwhile, the company representative refused to accept the available certificates issued by hospitals and clinics of the Russian Federation.

“We were struggling with the company until August, discussing the conditions of the payments' receiving, and involved colleagues from St. Petersburg in the case. Finally, the company gave up, and after receiving all documents from Alexander, they began to transfer him payments on a monthly basis,” - Lyudmila Izmalkova, Chairman of the Kaliningrad Territorial Organization of SUR, said. Last week, the seafarer reported that he received his last payments - all expenses were reimbursed. And, what matters most is that the man is healthy again.

Source: surpr.ru