The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: An ILO landmark Convention
With serious economic difficulties confronting so many countries and workers in all regions, as Director of the International Labour Standards Department of the International Labour Office, I welcome the opportunity to share some very good news.
On August 20, 2012 the Russian Federation and the Republic of the Philippines were, respectively, the 29th and 30th countries to have their ratifications of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), registered. The ratification by these two countries is significant as the 30th ratification, when combined with ratifications by countries representing over 33 per cent of the world’s ships (based on gross tonnage), means that this innovative ILO Convention will enter into force (become binding as international law) for these 30 countries. With these 30 countries, the MLC, 2006 already covers almost 60 per cent of the world fleet in terms of gross tonnage of ships. Therefore, when the MLC, 2006 enters into force on 20 August 2013 it will establish minimum international standards for working and living conditions for seafarers working on more than 60 per cent of the world’s fleet of ships. Many more ratifications in all regions are expected over the next year or two.What is the MLC 2006 and why is it relevant to other sectors?More than 100 pages long, the MLC, 2006 is a comprehensive international Convention adopted in 2006 by the International Labour Conference of the ILO. It brings together and replaces 37 existing ILO maritime labour Conventions and related Recommendations adopted since 1920. The MLC, 2006 establishes minimum international requirements for almost every aspect of seafarers’ working and living conditions including, minimum age, medical fitness, training, conditions of employment including rights regarding wages, paid annual leave, repatriation, hours of work and rest, standards for onboard accommodation and recreational facilities, food and catering, health protection, medical care, occupational safety and health, access to shore-based welfare facilities and social security protection. It also contains important standards for the regulation of the private recruitment and placement services, or manning agencies, as they are also sometimes called. Concerning the important issue of wages, the MLC, 2006 requires that wages must be paid at no greater than monthly intervals and payment of wages is one of the items that must be certified and is subject to inspection by port States that ratify the Convention at which ships call. The Convention also provides for a mechanism for setting and keeping under regular review the minimum basic wage through the ILO Joint Maritime Commission, an ILO permanent bipartite body representing Shipowners and Seafarers. This is the only sector of economic activity with such a mechanism at the global level.Download the full article here
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