| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2012) 129 final (23.3.12) |
| Publication Date | 23/03/2012 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 was adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with a quasi unanimous vote on 23 February 2006 in Geneva. It applies to international shipping and covers essential matters such as the minimum requirements for seafarers to work on board a ship; conditions of employment; accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering; health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection; and compliance and enforcement, in order to guarantee decent working and living conditions on board ships, as well as procedures to implement these provisions. The Convention can be considered as the first maritime labour code for more than 1.2 million seafarers worldwide, as well as for shipowners and maritime nations around the world. The EU Member States and the Commission have supported the ILO work on this matter from the outset. The EU sees a valuable input in the MLC which aims at establishing a level playing field in the worldwide maritime industry by setting common minimum standards for all flags and seafarers. In this respect, the EU has already adopted Council Decision 2007/431/EC of 7 June 2007 authorising Member States to ratify, in the interest of the European Community, the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, of the International Labour Organisation. Some Member States have already ratified it (Spain, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands) and others are about to do so. On the substance, the Member States national legislations are generally more protective and detailed than the ILO standards. To maintain the consistency between the international and national standards and to ratify the Convention, an extensive and time consuming screening of the national legislations is the prerequisite. This initiative is part of the EU policy on the maritime professions. In fact, as stated by the Commission in its Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Strategic goals and recommendations for the EU's maritime transport policy until 2018, there is a genuine EU interest in enhancing the attractiveness of the maritime professions to Europeans by means of actions that involve, where appropriate, the Commission, the Member States and the industry itself. This fully applies to the implementation of the MLC which considerably improves working and living conditions on board ships. The Communication underlines that the agreement between EU social partners on the implementation of key elements of this Convention demonstrates the wide support within the industry in this field and that, therefore, action of the EU and its Member States should aim to: – move towards rapid ratification of the MLC by Member States and the early adoption of the Commission’s proposals based on the social partners' agreement for implementing its key elements in EU law; – ensure the effective enforcement of the new rules by means of adequate measures, including flag and port State control requirements. This proposal is closely associated with the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the flag state responsibilities for the enforcement of Directive 2009/13/EC. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0129:FIN:EN:PDF |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
