Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
The new Convention is seen as having two primary purposes:
The Convention was adopted by a record vote of 314 in favour and none against (two countries abstained for reasons unrelated to the substance of the Convention), after nearly two weeks of detailed review by over 1,000 participants drawn from 106 countries. This almost unprecedented level of support reflects the lengthy tripartite consultation exercise and the unswerving support that has been shown for it by the governments and workers and employers who have worked together since 2001 to develop the Convention text. It will also achieve near universal ratification because of its blend of firmness on rights and flexibility with respect to approaches to implementation of the more technical requirements and because of the advantages it gives to the ships of countries that ratify it.
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The Maritime Labour Convention 2006
The Convention is organised into three main parts: the Articles coming first set out the broad principles and obligations.
This is followed by the more detailed Regulations and Code (with two parts: Parts A and B) provisions.
The Regulations and the Standards (Part A) and Guidelines (Part B) in the Code are integrated and organised into general areas of concern under five Titles:
Click on the title number to see progress on the UK requirements.
Title 1: Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship
Title 2: Conditions of employment
Title 3: Accommodation, Recreational Facilities, Food and Catering
Title 4: Health Protection, Medical Care, Welfare and Social Security Protection
Title 5: Compliance and Enforcement.
View FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
These five Titles essentially cover the same subject matter as the existing 68 maritime labour instruments, updating them where necessary.
It occasionally contains new subjects, particularly in the area of occupational safety and health to meet current health concerns, such as the effects of noise and vibration on workers or other workplace risks.
The provisions relating to flag State inspections, the use of recognised organisations” and the potential for inspections in foreign ports (port State control) in Title 5 are based on existing maritime labour Conventions; however, the new Convention builds upon them to develop a more effective approach to these important issues, consistent with other international maritime Conventions that establish standards for quality shipping with respect to issues such as ship safety and security and protection of the marine environment.
The Convention does not apply to:
UK Progress towards ratification
Full impact assessements are being prepared setting out the arguments for legislation and non-legislative approaches, and it is expected that all impact assessments will be presented to the Reducing Regulations Committee (RRC) before the end of the year.
(Last updated 16 August 2011)
To see which countries have ratified to date click here
Enforcement
The new Convention is intended to achieve more compliance by operators and owners of ships and to strengthen enforcement of standards through mechanisms which operate at all levels.
For example, it contains provisions for:
Contact Details :
| Neil Atkinson - Survey Operations Manager | Tel : 02380 329 549 |
| Julie Carlton - Head of Seafarer Safety & Health Branch | Tel : 02380 329 216 |
| email : mlc@mcga.gov.uk |
The MLC 2006
http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/maritime-labour-convention/lang--en/index.htm
Frequently asked Questions
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---normes/documents/publication/wcms_177371.pdf
Flag State Guidelines 
(PDF 399KB)
Port State Guidelines (PDF 320KB)
