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Collective legal action

Get back the wages you rightfully earned.

Indonesian and Filipino seafarers on Dutch ships were paid at least 50% less than Europeans. This is illegal. Together we can change it. Join thousands standing up for the wages they deserve. You qualify if:

  • You worked on a Dutch-flagged ship
  • Your last day of work on that ship was after 15 November 2016
  • You were living in Indonesia or the Philippine
Join the claim now
No cure, no pay – Free to join

Why take action?

Indonesian and Filipino seafarers working on Dutch-flagged ships were paid significantly less than their European colleagues, despite doing the same work. This is a clear case of discrimination.
Dutch law guarantees equal pay for equal work. Every year of work could mean thousands in unpaid wages. By joining, you not only recover your money, you also make sure shipowners can never do this again.
Am I eligible to join this legal action?

You are eligible if:

requirement : 1/3
You worked as a seafarer on a ship sailing under the Dutch flag. 
requirement : 2/3
Your last day of work on that ship was after 15 November 2016.
requirement : 3/3
When you were hired to work on the ship you were living in Indonesia or the Philippines. 
Join the claim now
The Equal Justice Equal Pay Foundation

Who is bringing this case?

The Equal Justice Equal Pay Foundation was established to hold Dutch shipping companies accountable and to help Indonesian and Filipino seafarers recover the wages unfairly withheld from them.


The Equal Justice Equal Pay Foundation has appointed specialist disputes law firm, Rubicon Impact & Litigation, based in Amsterdam, to represent the Foundation in this case. The lawyers appointed for the case are:

Frank Peters
A partner at Rubicon Impact & Litigation with 24 years of experience practicing law who has particular expertise in commercial, international and group litigation.
Read more
Maxime Eljon
An associate at Rubicon Impact & Litigation who specializes in dispute resolution, including mass damage cases and international commercial contracts, with a particular expertise in tort law. She is currently involved in a number of group actions involving human rights violations.
Read more
Sarah Stapel
As an associate at Rubicon who specialises in the protection of fundamental rights through
collective redress. She is involved in multiple class actions that seek protection of
fundamental rights and compensation for the violation thereof.
Read more

How does it work?

By registering with our Foundation, you take the first step to claiming back-pay. You will join thousands of fellow seafarers in a collective case, on a no win, no fee basis.
This means you pay nothing unless we succeed in recovering your unpaid wages. Only if we win your case, a percentage of the recovered amount will go towards covering the legal work and funding.
01
Register
Fill in the registration form with your personal details and voyage information.
Register here
02
Add your voyages
Add the voyages you’ve made in the relevant period and add any documentation.
Register here
03
We check your eligibility
Your submission will be reviewed and included in our collective action if found eligible.
Register here
04
We fight in court for you
We go to court in the Netherlands to claim your unpaid wages, together with other seafarers.
Register here
By registering with our Foundation, you take the first step to claiming back-pay. You will join thousands of fellow seafarers in a collective case, on a no win, no fee basis.
This means you pay nothing unless we succeed in recovering your unpaid wages. Only if we win your case, a percentage of the recovered amount will go towards covering the legal work and funding.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

See more
Dutch shipowners discriminate. They pay Indonesian and Filipino crew members 50
percent less than others. This is against the law. The Equal Justice Equal Pay
Foundation will file a lawsuit in the Netherlands to recover the pay differences for
voyages that ended after 15 November 2016.
You are eligible if you lived in Indonesia or the Philippines and worked on a Dutch
owned ship on voyages that started and/or ended after 15 November 2016.
After you register, we will investigate your claim and check if all information is
complete. We may follow up with further information requests. Once our group is
large enough, we will launch our lawsuit in the Netherlands to recover the pay
wrongfully withheld from you. Only if you registered with our group can you receive
back pay through our Foundation, if we are successful.
Yes. You will not be charged for participating. We work on a no cure no pay basis.
This means that only if the case is successful will we charge fees and costs. These will
be deducted from the compensation you receive.
We strive to retrieve your back pay as soon as possible. We will reach out to the
shipowners before filing our case and at regular intervals to speed up the process
and seek a speedy out-of-court resolution to get you your backpay as soon as
reasonably possible. If the shipowners are unwilling to do the right thing, our legal
action may take several years. Regular updates will be posted here.
See more
Claim your unpaid wages

Equal pay for equal work. Join today and claim back what’s yours.

Under Dutch and international law, you must be paid the same as any crew member doing the same job.
Join the claim now
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