101. Form and contents of the agreement.-

(1) An agreement with the crew shall be in the prescribed form, and shall be dated at the time of the first signature thereof, and shall be 1[signed by the owner or agent and the master] before any seaman signs the same.

(2) The agreement with the crew shall contain as terms thereof the following particulars, namely:-

(a) the name of the ship or ships on board which the seaman undertakes to serve;

(b) either the nature and, as far as practicable, the duration of the intended voyage or engagement or the maximum period of the voyage or engagement, and the places or parts of the world, if any, to which the voyage or engagement is not to extend;

(c) the number and description of the crew of different categories in each department;

2[(cc) hours of work and rest in a week, as may be prescribed;]

(d) the time at which each seaman is to be on board or to begin work;

(e) the capacity in which each seaman is to serve;

(f) the amount of wages which each seaman is to receive;

4[(ff) the entitlement for leave, as may be prescribed; and]

(g) a scale of the provisions which are to be furnished to each seaman, such scale being not less than the scale fixed by the Central Government and published in the Official Gazette;

(h) a scale of warm clothing and a scale of additional provisions to be issued to each seaman during periods of employment in specified cold regions;

(i) any regulations as to conduct on board and as to fines or other lawful punishment for misconduct, which have been sanctioned by the Central Government as regulations proper to be adopted, and which the parties agree to adopt;

(j) payment of compensation for personal injury or death caused by accident 3[arising out of employment or] in the course of employment;

(k) where it is agreed that the services of any seaman shall end at any port not in India, a stipulation to provide him either fit employment on board some other ship bound to the port at which he was shipped or to such other port in India as may be agreed upon, or a passage to some port in India free of charge or on such other terms as may be agreed upon;

2[(kk) the terms of agreement with the crew shall be determined after consultation with such organisations in India as the Central Government may, by order, notify to be the most representative of the employers of seamen and of seamen.]

(l) stipulations relating to such other matters as may be prescribed.

(3) The agreement shall provide that in the event of a dispute arising outside India between the master, owner or agent of a ship and a seaman in respect of any matter touching the agreement, such dispute shall be referred to the Indian consular officer whose decision thereon shall be binding on the parties until the return of the ship to the port in India at which the seaman is to be discharged: Provided that in the case of a ship other than an Indian ship, no such dispute shall be referred to the Indian consular officer if such reference is contrary to the rules of international law.

(4) The agreement with the crew shall be so framed as to admit of stipulations, to be adopted at the will of the master and seaman in each case (not being inconsistent with the provisions of this Act) respecting the advance and allotment of wages and may contain any other stipulations which are not contrary to law.

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