The ILO has urged ratifying states which have not yet done so, to adopt all necessary measures without delay to restore the protection of seafarers’ rights and comply to the fullest extent with their obligations under the MLC, 2006.
The call is outlined in new ILO guidance, following its previous ruling in December 2020, that found governments had breached seafarers’ rights and failed to comply with several provisions of the MLC. The Committee of Experts stressed that the notion of force majeure may no longer be invoked from the moment that options are available to comply with the provisions of the MLC, 2006, although more difficult or cumbersome.
Accordingly, it requested all ratifying States, in their various capacities as flag States, port States or labour-supplying States, to adopt the necessary measures or reinforce existing ones without delay to ensure that, “in no case, seafarers are forced to continue working on extended contractual arrangements without their formal, free and informed consent.“
In this respect, the Committee urged Governments to adopt the necessary measures, in consultation with relevant seafarers’ and shipowners’ organisations, to further enhance cooperation with each other to ensure enforcement of the Convention, a fortiori during the pandemic, where it is mostly needed.
The document can viewed at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—normes/documents/genericdocument/wcms_741024.pdf
With thanks to Safety4Sea.com
