As the third anniversary of the entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) approaches, Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) is embarking on a comprehensive study on the effectiveness of the Convention.
The study has been commissioned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. It will be an in-depth and independent study into both the implementation and the enforcement of the Convention.
Brian Orrell, Chair of the Advisory Board of SRI, who led the seafarers in the negotiations for the MLC at the International Labour Organization (ILO) said: “When the seafarers embarked with the shipowners and governments on the long tripartite process of negotiating the MLC, there was a clear joint objective that the Convention would be a bill of rights delivering minimum international standards for seafarers, as well as ensuring a level playing field for shipowners. Now is the time to assess how effective efforts have been to implement and enforce the Convention”.
Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI said: “SRI is uniquely placed to undertake this study. We are an independent research centre guided by an Advisory Board comprising judges, professors, legal practitioners and leading industry and technical experts in the maritime field. Specifically in relation to the MLC, in addition to Brian Orrell, we are very fortunate to have amongst our Advisory Board members David Heindel who leads the seafarers in negotiations at the ILO, Jean Marc Schindler who was Chair of the Maritime Labour Convention conferences from 2001 to 2006, and Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry who is the former Director of the International Labour Standards Department of the ILO”.
Deirdre Fitzpatrick added: “We will be drawing on the expertise of all our Board members and in addition we will be working closely with our very extensive international network of professional organizations and legal and technical contacts all around the world to plan and deliver a study that will be truly global, rigorous and authoritative. Completion of this study will provide the basis for an annual assessment of the ongoing effectiveness of the MLC”.
26th April 2016
ENDS
For further information, please contact
Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director
Tel: + 44 20 7940 9252
Email: D.Fitzpatrick@seafarersrights.org
