Balen

I. BACKGROUND

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (“POEA”), a division of the Department of Labor and Employment of the Republic of the Philippines, closely regu- lates the employment of Filipino seamen by foreign corpora- tions. Foreign employers must go through a POEA-licensed employment agency to hire workers. The POEA approves and administers standard employment contracts of the Filipino seamen. The POEA-approved contracts include the POEA’s Standard Terms and Conditions Governing the Employment of Filipino Seafarers On Board Ocean Going Vessels (“Standard Terms”).

Section 3 of the Standard Terms, titled “Free Passage from the Point of Hire to the Port of Embarkation” states: “[t]he seafarer shall join the vessel or be available for duty at the date and time specified by the employer. The seafarer shall 14216 BALEN v. HOLLAND AMERICA LINE travel by air or as otherwise directed at the expense of the employer.”

Section 29 of the Standard Terms concerns “Dispute Settle- ment Procedures.” It states:

In cases of claims and disputes arising from this employment, the parties covered by a collective bar- gaining agreement shall submit the claim or dispute…