A Study On The Identification Of Labor Relation Regarding Expatriate Seamen Of China

Although China has regulations regarding the expatriate seamen,the hierarchical position of these regulations is relatively low,and the regulations regarding expatriate seamen are too rudimentary.Due to the complexity of the legal relations involved in the seamen expatriate,the rights and interests of expatriate seamen are not promptly protected in labor disputes.Practice has shown that accurately identifying the party responsible for compensation is crucial to ensuring the timely and effective resolution of labor disputes involving expatriate seamen.However,before identifying the party responsible for compensation,it is necessary to determine the labor law relations among multiple labor entities.Before providing labor services on board,expatriate seamen usually need to sign contracts with the overseas shipowners and expatriate agencies.In practice,the contract signed by seamen is commonly referred to as the seamen expatriate contract and the nature of this contract is of significant importance in determining the labor relation of expatriate seamen.There are different views in the theoretical field regarding the nature of seamen expatriate contracts.While most scholars believe that it should be regarded as a labor contract to maximize the protection of the labor rights and interests of expatriate seamen,considering the unique nature of seamen expatriate,it should be seen as an independent contract with attributes of both labor and service contracts.If the seamen expatriate contract contains essential clauses of a labor contract,then it should be regarded as a labor contract,and the parties to the contract have a labor law relation between them.In the case of the formation of a seamen service expatriate relation between the expatriate seamen,overseas shipowners,and expatriate agencies.According to the dual labor relation theory,in this relation,it should be recognized that expatriate seamen and overseas shipowners,as well as expatriate agencies,respectively establish a labor relation.If no contract is signed between the overseas shipowners and the expatriate seamen,but the seamen actually provides labor services on the overseas ship and the overseas shipowner does not explicitly refuse,then according to the principle of conduct and payment,it can be inferred that the parties involved are making implied expressions through their conduct.In other words,an implied contract exists between them.Additionally,due to the overseas shipowner’s direct supervision,leadership,and management over the expatriate seamen,there is a personal dependency between the seamen and the overseas shipowner.Therefore,it should be recognized that a de facto labor relation exists between the overseas shipowner and the expatriate seamen.The present study analyzes the nature of seamen expatriate contract under different circumstances and the labor relation between overseas shipowners and expatriate seamen in the absence of a written labor contract.Based on this analysis,three recommendations are proposed to improve the labor relation of expatriate seamen.Firstly,it is important to clarify the legal nature of seamen expatriate contract and strengthen administrative supervision over the seamen expatriate industry,particularly in terms of contract management.Secondly,there should be a reasonable division of responsibilities between the expatriate agencies and overseas shipowners.Furthermore,as China is a signatory to the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention,it is necessary to establish a special labor regime for seamen to effectively implement the provisions of the Convention.This includes clearly defining the legal responsibilities of all parties involved in seamen expatriate,thereby ensuring the protection of the labor rights and interests of expatriate seamen.