EU Commission calls on the Member States to Implement the ILO Maritime Labor Convention

The Commission adopted a draft Council Decision proposing that the Member States ratify the Convention on labor standards for seafarers by December 2008 according to a statement from Brussels.

The Commission also committed to consulting social partners to examine the possibility of integrating provisions of the Convention into European law.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted the Convention on labor standards for seafarers, an international legal instrument affecting the 1.2 million seafarers worldwide, as well as ship-owners and maritime nations around the world, at the end of the tenth Maritime Session of the International Labor Conference on 23 February 2006.

“We needed a worldwide response to the challenges facing maritime transport, the first sector in which activity is globalize, and to define fair rules for all involved”, said Vice-President Barrot, adding “I hope that the Member States will start the procedure to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and that the social partners will take action to implement it at European level”.

The consolidated Maritime Labor Convention brings together and updates more than 65 international labor standards adopted since the ILO was founded in 1919. The Convention covers essential matters such as the conditions of employment and working conditions of seafarers, including health, safety, minimum age, recruitment, working hours, accommodation on ships and social protection in order to guarantee decent working and living conditions on ships. It will apply to personnel working on ships of 500 gross tonnage or more which make international journeys or journeys between foreign ports.