MLC MARITIME
LABOUR CONVENTION, 2006
(Date of adoption: 07.02.2006)
The
General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having
been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour
Office, and having met in its Ninety-fourth Session on 7 February 2006, and
Desiring
to create a single, coherent instrument embodying as far as possible all
up-to-date standards of existing international maritime labour Conventions and
Recommendations, as well as the fundamental principles to be found in other
international labour Conventions, in particular:
- the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29);
- the Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87);
- the Right to
Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98);
- the Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100);
- the Abolition
of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105);
- the
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111);
- the Minimum
Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138);
- the Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); and
Mindful
of the core mandate of the Organization, which is to promote decent conditions
of work, and
Recalling
the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998, and
Mindful
also that seafarers are covered by the provisions of other ILO instruments and
have other rights which are established as fundamental rights and freedoms
applicable to all persons, and
Considering
that, given the global nature of the shipping industry, seafarers need special
protection, and
Mindful
also of the international standards on ship safety, human security and quality
ship management in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,
1974, as amended, the Convention on the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended, and the seafarer training and
competency requirements in the International Convention on Standards of
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended, and
Recalling
that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, sets out a
general legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must
be carried out and is of strategic importance as the basis for national,
regional and global action and cooperation in the marine sector, and that its
integrity needs to be maintained, and
Recalling
that Article 94 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982,
establishes the duties and obligations of a flag State with regard to, inter
alia, labour conditions, crewing and social matters on ships that fly its flag,
and
Recalling
paragraph 8 of article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour
Organisation which provides that in no case shall the adoption of any
Convention or Recommendation by the Conference or the ratification of any
Convention by any Member be deemed to affect any law, award, custom or
agreement which ensures more favourable conditions to the workers concerned
than those provided for in the Convention or Recommendation, and
Determined
that this new instrument should be designed to secure the widest possible
acceptability among governments, shipowners and seafarers committed to the
principles of decent work, that it should be readily updateable and that it
should lend itself to effective implementation and enforcement, and
Having
decided upon the adoption of certain proposals for the realization of such an
instrument, which is the only item on the agenda of the session, and
Having
determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international
Convention;
adopts
this twenty-third day of February of the year two thousand and six the
following Convention, which may be cited as the Maritime Labour Convention,
2006.
1.
Each Member which ratifies this Convention undertakes to give complete effect
to its provisions in the manner set out in Article VI in order to secure the
right of all seafarers to decent employment.
2.
Members shall cooperate with each other for the purpose of ensuring the
effective implementation and enforcement of this Convention.
Definitions and Scope
of Application
1.
For the purpose of this Convention and unless provided otherwise in particular
provisions, the term:
a) competent
authority means the minister, government department or other authority having
power to issue and enforce regulations, orders or other instructions having the
force of law in respect of the subject matter of the provision concerned;
b) declaration
of maritime labour compliance means the declaration referred to in Regulation
5.1.3;
c) gross tonnage
means the gross tonnage calculated in accordance with the tonnage measurement
regulations contained in Annex I to the International Convention on Tonnage
Measurement of Ships, 1969, or any successor Convention; for ships covered by
the tonnage measurement interim scheme adopted by the International Maritime
Organization, the gross tonnage is that which is included in the REMARKS column
of the International Tonnage Certificate (1969);
d) maritime
labour certificate means the certificate referred to in Regulation 5.1.3;
e) requirements
of this Convention refers to the requirements in these Articles and in the
Regulations and Part A of the Code of this Convention;
f) seafarer
means any person who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a
ship to which this Convention applies;
g) seafarers'
employment agreement includes both a contract of employment and articles of
agreement;
h) seafarer
recruitment and placement service means any person, company, institution,
agency or other organization, in the public or the private sector, which is
engaged in recruiting seafarers on behalf of shipowners or placing seafarers
with shipowners;
i) ship means a
ship other than one which navigates exclusively in inland waters or waters
within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where port
regulations apply;
j) shipowner
means the owner of the ship or another organization or person, such as the
manager, agent or bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for
the operation of the ship from the owner and who, on assuming such
responsibility, has agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed
on shipowners in accordance with this Convention, regardless of whether any
other organization or persons fulfil certain of the duties or responsibiities
on behalf of the shipowner.
2.
Except as expressly provided otherwise, this Convention applies to all
seafarers.
3.
In the event of doubt as to whether any categories of persons are to be
regarded as seafarers for the purpose of this Convention, the question shall be
determined by the competent authority in each Member after consultation with
the shipowners' and seafarers' organizations concerned with this question.
4.
Except as expressly provided otherwise, this Convention applies to all ships,
whether publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in commercial
activities, other than ships engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits and
ships of traditional build such as dhows and junks. This Convention does not
apply to warships or naval auxiliaries.
5.
In the event of doubt as to whether this Convention applies to a ship or
particular category of ships, the question shall be determined by the competent
authority in each Member after consultation with the shipowners' and seafarers'
organizations concerned.
6.
Where the competent authority determines that it would not be reasonable or
practicable at the present time to apply certain details of the Code referred
to in Article VI, paragraph 1, to a ship or particular categories of ships
flying the flag of the Member, the relevant provisions of the Code shall not
apply to the extent that the subject matter is dealt with differently by
national laws or regulations or collective bargaining agreements or other
measures. Such a determination may only be made in consultation with the
shipowners' and seafarers' organizations concerned and may only be made with
respect to ships of less than 200 gross tonnage not engaged in international
voyages.
7.
Any determinations made by a Member under paragraph 3 or 5 or 6 of this Article
shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour
Office, who shall notify the Members of the Organization.
8.
Unless expressly provided otherwise, a reference to this Convention constitutes
at the same time a reference to the Regulations and the Code.
Fundamental Rights
and Principles
Each
Member shall satisfy itself that the provisions of its law and regulations
respect, in the context of this Convention, the fundamental rights to:
a) freedom of
association and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;
b) the
elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
c) the effective
abolition of child labour; and
d) the
elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Seafarers' Employment
and Social Rights
1.
Every seafarer has the right to a safe and secure workplace that complies with
safety standards.
2.
Every seafarer has a right to fair terms of employment.
3.
Every seafarer has a right to decent working and living conditions on board
ship.
4.
Every seafarer has a right to health protection, medical care, welfare measures
and other forms of social protection.
5.
Each Member shall ensure, within the limits of its jurisdiction, that the
seafarers' employment and social rights set out in the preceding paragraphs of
this Article are fully implemented in accordance with the requirements of this
Convention. Unless specified otherwise in the Convention, such implementation
may be achieved through national laws or regulations, through applicable
collective bargaining agreements or through other measures or in practice.
Implementation and
Enforcement Responsibilities
1.
Each Member shall implement and enforce laws or regulations or other measures
that it has adopted to fulfil its commitments under this Convention with
respect to ships and seafarers under its jurisdiction.
2.
Each Member shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control over ships
that fly its flag by establishing a system for ensuring compliance with the
requirements of this Convention, including regular inspections, reporting,
monitoring and legal proceedings under the applicable laws.
3.
Each Member shall ensure that ships that fly its flag carry a maritime labour
certificate and a declaration of maritime labour compliance as required by this
Convention.
4.
A ship to which this Convention applies may, in accordance with international
law, be inspected by a Member other than the flag State, when the ship is in
one of its ports, to determine whether the ship is in compliance with the
requirements of this Convention.
5.
Each Member shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control over
seafarer recruitment and placement services, if these are established in its
territory.
6.
Each Member shall prohibit violations of the requirements of this Convention
and shall, in accordance with international law, establish sanctions or require
the adoption of corrective measures under its laws which are adequate to
discourage such violations.
7.
Each Member shall implement its responsibilities under this Convention in such
a way as to ensure that the ships that fly the flag of any State that has not
ratified this Convention do not receive more favourable treatment than the
ships that fly the flag of any State that has ratified it.
Regulations and Parts
A and B of the Code
1.
The Regulations and the provisions of Part A of the Code are mandatory. The
provisions of Part B of the Code are not mandatory.
2.
Each Member undertakes to respect the rights and principles set out in the
Regulations and to implement each Regulation in the manner set out in the
corresponding provisions of Part A of the Code. In addition, the Member shall
give due consideration to implementing its responsibilities in the manner
provided for in Part B of the Code.
3.
A Member which is not in a position to implement the rights and principles in
the manner set out in Part A of the Code may, unless expressly provided
otherwise in this Convention, implement Part A through provisions in its laws
and regulations or other measures which are substantially equivalent to the provisions
of Part A.
4.
For the sole purpose of paragraph 3 of this Article, any law, regulation,
collective agreement or other implementing measure shall be considered to be
substantially equivalent, in the context of this Convention, if the Member
satisfies itself that:
a) it is
conducive to the full achievement of the general object and purpose of the
provision or provisions of Part A of the Code concerned; and
b) it gives
effect to the provision or provisions of Part A of the Code concerned.
Consultation with
Shipowners' and Seafarers' Organizations
Any
derogation, exemption or other flexible application of this Convention for
which the Convention requires consultation with shipowners' and seafarers'
organizations may, in cases where representative organizations of shipowners or
of seafarers do not exist within a Member, only be decided by that Member
through consultation with the Committee referred to in Article XIII.
1.
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the
Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
2.
This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International
Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered by the
Director-General.
3.
This Convention shall come into force 12 months after the date on which there
have been registered ratifications by at least 30 Members with a total share in
the world gross tonnage of ships of 33 per cent.
4.
Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member 12 months
after the date on which its ratification has been registered.
1.
A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the
expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into
force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International
Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until
one year after the date on which it is registered.
2.
Each Member which does not, within the year following the expiration of the
period of ten years mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, exercise the
right of denunciation provided for in this Article, shall be bound for another
period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the
expiration of each new period of ten years under the terms provided for in this
Article.
This
Convention revises the following Conventions:
Minimum Age
(Sea) Convention, 1920 (No. 7)
Unemployment
Indemnity (Shipwreck) Convention, 1920 (No. 8)
Placing of
Seamen Convention, 1920 (No. 9)
Medical
Examination of Young Persons (Sea) Convention, 1921 (No. 16)
Seamen's
Articles of Agreement Convention, 1926 (No. 22)
Repatriation of Seamen
Convention, 1926 (No. 23)
Officers'
Competency Certificates Convention, 1936 (No. 53)
Holidays with
Pay (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 54)
Shipowners'
Liability (Sick and Injured Seamen) Convention, 1936 (No. 55)
Sickness
Insurance (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 56)
Hours of Work
and Manning (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 57)
Minimum Age
(Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936 (No. 58)
Food and
Catering (Ships' Crews) Convention, 1946 (No. 68)
Certification of
Ships' Cooks Convention, 1946 (No. 69)
Social Security
(Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 70)
Paid Vacations
(Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 72)
Medical
Examination (Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 73)
Certification of
Able Seamen Convention, 1946 (No. 74)
Accommodation of
Crews Convention, 1946 (No. 75)
Wages, Hours of
Work and Manning (Sea) Convention, 1946 (No. 76)
Paid Vacations
(Seafarers) Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 91)
Accommodation of
Crews Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 92)
Wages, Hours of
Work and Manning (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 93)
Wages, Hours of
Work and Manning (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1958 (No. 109)
Accommodation of
Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1970 (No. 133)
Prevention of
Accidents (Seafarers) Convention, 1970 (No. 134)
Continuity of
Employment (Seafarers) Convention, 1976 (No. 145)
Seafarers'
Annual Leave with Pay Convention, 1976 (No. 146)
Merchant
Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147)
Protocol of 1996
to the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147)
Seafarers'
Welfare Convention, 1987 (No. 163)
Health
Protection and Medical Care (Seafarers) Convention, 1987 (No. 164)
Social Security
(Seafarers) Convention (Revised), 1987 (No. 165)
Repatriation of
Seafarers Convention (Revised), 1987 (No. 166)
Labour
Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996 (No. 178)
Recruitment and
Placement of Seafarers Convention, 1996 (No. 179)
Seafarers' Hours
of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180).
1.
The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all
Members of the International Labour Organization of the