These regulations have been established pursuant to Paragraph 1, Article 27 of the Seafarer Act.

The keywords used in these regulations are defined as follows:
1. Wages: the remuneration received by seafarers for their regular working hours.
2. On-shore charges: the pay that an employer should provide to a seafarer upon signing an employment contract and waiting to be assigned to a vessel, or while a said seafarer is receiving training or taking examinations.
3. Overtime charges: additional remuneration that employers shall provide to seafarers based on the amount of time they spend working over 44 hours per week.

The minimum monthly wage paid to seafarers of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) by employers shall be subject to the regulations of the Minimum Monthly Wage for R.O.C. Seafarers (attached).
Once seafarers have signed an employment contract, their minimum monthly on-shore charges shall comply with the minimum wage standards mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Once the standards for the seafarers’ minimum monthly wage come into effect, the proposals to adjust wages shall be agreed upon by the National Association of Chinese Ship-owners, National Chinese Seaman’s Union, and the Master Mariners Association every year; such adjustments shall be implemented once submitted to the Maritime Administration and subsequently approved.

• Attachment Minimum Monthly Wage for the R.O.C. Seafarers.pdf

When employers contract seafarers from the R.O.C., such seafarers shall be assigned actual work aboard a vessel within one month of signing the employment contract. In this period, seafarers cannot transfer to the ship of another employer without permission from the original employer. However, this requirement is exempt if both sides reach an agreement and any on-shore charges that had already been paid are returned by the seafarer.
While seafarers are receiving on-shore charges, if they do not report to the ship on the specified date or refuse to board the ship after receiving an official notification from the employer, the employer can discontinue payment of the seafarers’ on-shore charges, and said seafarers are required to return any previous on-shore charges that they have received.
If seafarers do not receive their on-shore charges on the date specified in the employment contract, such seafarers shall immediately request a transfer to another employer’s ship. The original employer may not demand compensation and shall not confiscate any certification. The original employer shall also pay any unpaid on-shore charges.

The minimum standards for overtime charges per hour shall be determined according to the total number of hours worked beyond the seafarers’ regular schedule.

Employers shall provide an appropriate method for transmitting all or part of the seafarers’ earnings to their families, dependents, or legal beneficiaries in accordance with the wish of the seafarers.
The aforementioned earnings of the seafarers are a combination of their wages and on-shore and overtime charges.
Any charge for the service transmission service mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be reasonable, and, unless otherwise provided, the rate of currency shall comply with national laws and regulations.

These regulations shall take effect starting from the date on which they are issued. However, Article 6, which was issued with the July 18, 2013 amendments, shall take effect starting from August 20, 2013; the attachment to Paragraph 1, Article 3, which was issued with the August 6, 2015 amendments, shall take effect starting from July 1, 2015;and the attachment to Paragraph 1, Article 3, which was issued with the December 14, 2020 amendments, shall take effect starting from January 1, 2021.