AMENDMENTS OF 2018 TO THE CODE OF THE MARITIME LABOUR CONVENTION,2006 AS AMENDED

Approved by the Conference at its 107th Session. Geneva, 5 June 2018 

Amendment to the Code of the MLC, 2006 Relating to :

Relating to Regulation 2.1 
Regulation 2.1 – Seafarers’ employment agreements 

Insert a new paragraph 7:

7. Each Member shall require that a seafarer’s employment agreement shall continue to have effect while a seafarer is held captive on or off the ship as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, regardless of whether the date fixed for its expiry has passed or either party has given notice to suspend or terminate it. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term:

(a) piracy shall have the same meaning as in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982;

(b) armed robbery against ships means any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation, or threat thereof, other than an act of piracy, committed for private ends and directed against a ship or against persons or property on board such a ship, within a State’s internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea, or any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described above.

Relating to Regulation 2.2

Standard A2.2 – Wages

Insert a new paragraph 7:

7. Where a seafarer is held captive on or off the ship as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, wages and other entitlements under the seafarers’ employment agreement, relevant collective bargaining agreement or applicable national laws, including the remittance of any allotments as provided in paragraph 4 of this Standard, shall continue to be paid during the entire period of captivity and until the seafarer is released and duly repatriated in accordance with Standard A2.5.1 or, where the seafarer dies while in captivity, until the date of death as determined in accordance with applicable national laws or regulations. The terms piracy and armed robbery against ships shall have the same meaning as in Standard A2.1, paragraph 7.

Relating to Regulation 2.5

Guideline B2.5.1 – Entitlement

Replace paragraph 8 by the following:

8. The entitlement to repatriation may lapse if the seafarers concerned do not claim it within a reasonable period of time to be defined by national laws or regulations or collective agreements, except where they are held captive on or off the ship as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships. The terms piracy and armed robbery against ships shall have the same meaning as in Standard A2.1, paragraph 7.

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Indonesia supports Maritime Labour Convention amendment

Jakarta, June 11 - Indonesia has expressed its support for the ratification of the amendment of Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) governing the guarantee of financial rights for seafarers who are victims of pirate hostage or crimes at sea.

"Although so far the number of Indonesian seafarers who have become victims of pirate hostage is relatively small, the MLC amendment is very important considering Indonesia as one of the largest seafarer providers in the world," 

Indonesia has ratified the MLC through the Law no.15 of 2016, which was ratified by President Joko Widodo on October 6, 2016. The Minister of Manpower will officially submit the instrument of MLC ratification to the Director General of the International Labor Organization on June 12, 2017.

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Union to enforce rights of seafarers onboard vessels

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) is set to enforce the rights of seafarers working onboard vessels operating within the nation’s waters.

Towards this end, the union has set up a special taskforce to monitor and compel ship owners and manning agents to comply with relevant provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC).

The labour law seeks to enforce the rights of seamen working onboard various merchant ships across the world.

The MLC 2006 is an international agreement of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which sets out seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work. It is sometimes called the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights.

The tripartite agreement  with ship owners, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the union, has not yielded any positive results.

It was gathered that MWUN has also appointed its deputy president general, Comrade Douglas Emobolor, as national chairman of the taskforce while Comrade Dennis Unefeke will serve as the Lagos State coordinator.

It was also learnt that the union has officially written to the regulatory agency,  NIMASA, Marine Police and the Nigerian Navy for clearance with a view to commencing full operations to patrol the waterways.

The taskforce is charged with carrying out on-the-spot assessment with workers aboard ships operating in Nigerian waters. 

Nigerian seafarers are also expected to use the opportunity to air their grievances about the terms and conditions under which they work.

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Keciciran di bawah MLC di samping penguatkusaannya

Peruntukan baru Konvensyen Buruh Maritim 2006 (MLC) - 'rang undang-undang hak asasi' pelaut - telah mula mengigit sejak ia berkuatkuasa pada bulan Ogos 2013.

International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network  atau lebih dikenali sebagai ISWAN melaporkan bahawa terdapat lapan kapal dagang ditahan kerana pelanggaran peraturan MLC06 pada bulan pertama penguatkuasaannya, iaitu; tiga di Canada (negara pertama yang melakukan penahanan kapal dibawah MLC), tiga di Spain serta setiap satu di Denmark dan Russia. Dua kapal yang ditahan itu adalah berdaftar di Cyprus, dua di Panama dan setiap satu kapal berdaftar di Liberia, Marshall Islands, Netherlands dan Tanzania.

Walau bagaimanapun, kes baru di Britain menunjukkan terdapat keperluan untuk pengawasan terperinci terhadap pelaksanaan Konvensyen MLC; pemeriksaan kawalan negara pelabuhan (PSC) terhadap kapal milikan Greek, berdaftar dengan Marshal Island, yang dilakukan oleh George di Ellesmere Port, England mendapati bahawa walaupun kapal tersebut mempunyai pensijilan MLC, ia adalah dalam keadaan yang "kotor" dengan 12 penemuan/kekurangan.

Kapal tersebut telah menerima perintah larangan oleh kerana terdapat makanan yang busuk/basi diatas kapal, mempunyai peruntukan makanan yang telah luput tarikhnya dan sarang lipas di galley serta di bilik penginapan kru. Pegawai Kesihatan pelabuhan berkata, keadaan yang kotor seperti itu boleh membawa kepada 'risiko kesihatan kepada anak-anak kapal disebabkan oleh pencemaran makanan'.

Perintah larangan itu kemudianya ditarik balik berikutan pembersihan dan kerja pengasapan. Pegawai pemeriksa ITF, Tommy Molloy berkata adalah sukar untuk memahami mengapa kapal tersebut yang telah diaudit baru-baru ini mendapat kelulusan pematuhan MLC “walaupun terdapat kekurangan yang begitu jelas”. Beliau juga menyatakan bahawa terdapat masalah yang jelas dengan kontrak pekerjaan untuk pelaut Mesir dan Syria di atas kapal tersebut yang sepatutnya diambil tindakan sewaktu proses pensijilan MLC.

Sumber: MarineLink.com