The International Transport Forum (ITF) has welcomed the intention of the Special Tripartite Committee of the ILO (International Labour Organization) to add a new amendment to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006.
The amendment will now be submitted to the next session of the International Labour Conference for adoption.
Contractual Gap
The amendment, when it enters into force, will address a potential contractual gap for those seafarers who unfortunately fall victim and are held captive on or off a ship as a result of an act of piracy or armed robbery against ships.
The seafarers’ wages and other contractual entitlements will continue to be paid during the entire period of captivity. This will provide the families with the necessary means of survival to partially alleviate the unbelievable psychological distress they undergo whilst their loved ones are held hostages.
Step Forward for Seafarer Protection
Dave Heindel, chair of the ITF seafarers’ section, and spokesperson for the seafarers’ group at the ILO session said: 'This result has been a critical step forward for seafarer protections. With the agreement of the shipowners and member States, we managed to secure an amendment on wage protections, a resolution on shore leave, one on crew abandonment and one for the inland navigation sector, which will provide a way forward for our colleagues working on tugs and inland equipment. Overall, I believe the week was successful for all in the maritime sector.
'The MLC has entered a new chapter today. We have always known how challenging this would be to propose such an amendment and we are pleased that the seafarers’ position has been recognised by the social partners and governments, as a necessary instrument to provide Seafarers with a greater protections.'
Other Resolutions Adopted
The adoption of the amendment was not the only outcome of the week-long meeting in Geneva. A number of important resolutions have also been adopted. The Seafarers Group and the Ship Owners Group have jointly submitted three resolutions to draw the attention of and to call for action by the Governments on vital issues:
- the facilitation of shore leave for seafarers;
- seafarer abandonment;
- decent work in the inland navigation sector, calling for the ILO to consider convening a sectoral meeting to discuss decent work in this sector.
'The adoption of the resolution concerning decent work in the inland navigation sector is a very welcome and timely addition to the positive outcome of third session of the Special Tripartite Committee,' remarked ITF President Paddy Crumlin.
