Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 1939

Contributions to superannuation funds from wages of seamen.

2.—(1) Wages due or accruing to a seaman or to an apprentice to the sea service, or a part of any such wages, may be applied in paying contributions on behalf of such seaman or apprentice to a fund to which this section applies.

(2) This section applies to every fund the principal purpose of which is to provide superannuation allowances and other benefits for seamen on retirement and which has been declared in writing by the Minister to be a fund to which this section applies.

(3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to declarations by the Minister under the next preceding sub-section of this section, that is to say:—

(a) no such declaration shall be made in respect of a fund unless or until the Minister has received, from an organisation which appears to him to be representative of both shipowners and seamen or from an organisation which appears to him to be representative of shipowners and also from an organisation which appears to him to be representative of seamen, a request in writing for such declaration;

(b) whenever the Minister receives any such request as is mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this section, he shall forthwith make the declaration asked for in such request;

(c) every such declaration shall have effect as from the date (whether previous or subsequent to the date of such declaration and although such date is previous to the date of the passing of this Act) specified in that behalf in such declaration or, where no such date is so specified, as from the date of such declaration;

(d) where, by virtue of the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, any such declaration has effect as from a date specified therein which is previous to the date of such declaration, this section shall be deemed to have applied to the fund to which such declaration relates as from the date so specified and, where that date is previous to the date of the passing of this Act, this section shall be deemed to have been in operation in relation to the said fund as from the said date so specified;

(e) if the Minister receives, from the organisation or one of the organisations on whose request any such declaration was made or from an organisation which appears to the Minister to be the successor of such organisation or of one of such organisations, a request that this section shall cease to apply to the fund to which such declaration relates, the Minister shall forthwith revoke in writing such declaration;

(f) if it appears to the Minister that the organisation or one of the organisations on whose request any such declaration was made has ceased to be representative (as the case may be) of shipowners and seamen or of shipowners or of seamen, the Minister may, if he thinks proper so to do, revoke in writing such declaration;

(g) whenever the Minister revokes any such declaration under either of the two next preceding paragraphs of this sub-section, this section shall forthwith cease to apply to the said fund, but such cesser shall not prejudice or affect the validity of anything previously done under this section in relation to the said fund.

(4) Paragraphs (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 163 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (which places restrictions upon certain dispositions by seamen and apprentices of their wages), shall not apply to any application under this section of wages, or of a part of any wages, in payment of contributions to a fund to which this section applies, and paragraphs (a) and (d) of the said sub-section (1) shall not apply to anything done or to be done for giving effect to such application.