6/5/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly 28.1. A seafarer who suffers permanent disability as a result of an accident whilst in the employment of the Company regardless of fault, including accidents occurring while traveling to or from the ship, and whose ability to do work as a seafarer is reduced as a result thereof, but excluding permanent disability due to willful acts, shall in addition to sick pay, be entitled to compensation according to the provisions of this Agreement. 28.2. The disability suffered by the seafarer shall be determined by a doctor appointed by the Company. If a doctor appointed by or on behalf of the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be nominated jointly between the Company and the Union and the decision of this doctor shall be final and binding on both parties. 28.3 The Company shall provide disability compensation to the seafarer in accordance with APPENDIX 3, with any differences, including less than ten percent (10%) disability, to be pro rata. 28.4. A seafarer whose disability, in accordance with 28.2 above is assessed at fifty percent (50%) or more under the attached APPENDIX 3 shall, for the purpose of this paragraph, be regarded as permanently unfit for further sea service in any capacity and be entitled to one hundred percent (100%) compensation. Furthermore, any seafarer assessed at less than fifty percent (50%) disability but certified as permanently unfit for further sea service in any capacity by the Company-nominated doctor, shall also be entitled to one hundred percent (100%) compensation. Any disagreement as to the assessment or entitlement shall be resolved in accordance with clause 28.2 above.[34] Based on the above-quoted provisions of the CBA, there are three instances when a seafarer may be entitled to 100% disability compensation. These are: (1) when the seafarer is declared to have suffered 100% disability; (2) when the seafarer is assessed with disability of at least 50%; and (3) when the seafarer, while assessed at below 50% disability, is certified as permanently unfit for sea service. According to the CBA, both the disability assessment and the certification as permanently unfit for sea service are to be given by the company-designated physician. These can be overruled by a third doctor jointly appointed by the company and the union, in the event that the seafarer’s personal physician disagrees with the evaluations of the company-designated physician. Section 20(B)(3) of the POEA-SEC provides a similar mechanism for determining the disability assessment.[35] However, it is not only the contract between the parties that governs the determination of the disability compensation due the seafarer. The Court has ruled that the provisions on disability of the Labor Code and the Amended Rules on Employee Compensation (AREC) implementing Title II, Book IV of the Labor Code are applicable to the case of elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/59949 7/19