Increased protection for seafarers

Increased protection for seafarers
Ambassador Carlos Salinas October 19, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/10/19/business/maritime/increased-prote...

SEAFARING is different from other professions in many ways. Seafarers live and work in the same place, and yet, that place keeps moving from one part of the world to another. The global nature of the seafarer's work is certainly exciting, but it also makes it difficult to monitor the observance of laws that protect their rights. This makes seafarers vulnerable to inconsistencies in the provision of internationally-accepted labor practices.

We are therefore pleased that stakeholders in the global shipping industry, drawing from lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, have joined hands to adopt amendments to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), to improve the living and working conditions of seafarers.

Governments, seafarers, and shipowners from the global shipping industry have agreed on eight amendments, to improve the living and working conditions of the world's seafarers.

The amendments will ensure:

– The availability of appropriately-sized personal protective equipment, considering the increasing number of women seafarers;
– That seafarers have access to safe, free and good-quality drinking water;
– The prompt repatriation of abandoned seafarers;
– Medical care for seafarers in need of immediate assistance and repatriation of the remains of seafarers who have died on board;
– Appropriate social connectivity and internet access in their ports;
– Seafarers are informed of their rights relating to the obligation of recruitment and placement services to compensate seafarers for monetary losses; and
– All deaths of seafarers are recorded and reported annually to the ILO and the relevant data is published.

In addition to the amendments, the Special Tripartite Committee adopted resolutions to prevent bullying and harassment of seafarers, including sexual assault and sexual harassment, to ensure that financial security system is in place to protect seafarers in cases of abandonment and to ensure that all seafarers have adequate means of contractual redress against shipowners.

In their statement, the Officers of the STC underscore "the need to take into account the latest version of the Guidance on eliminating shipboard harassment and bullying jointly published by the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers' Federation, as provided for in Guideline B.4.3.1 of the MLC, 2006."

This particular safeguard is essential. Bullying and harassment can happen anywhere — in school, in workplaces, in one's neighborhood, and even at home. But harassment at sea presents a special set of problems. Confined in a boat, a victim of harassment has no place to run to, to hide from a bully. A seafarer's workplace is also their place of residence. And it is one of the most dangerous places to work in, according to the ILO.

The STC also acknowledges in its statement the existence of a regulatory framework that ensures a safe place of work for all seafarers: the MLC, 2006 and the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019, as well as the fundamental principles found in other international labor standards, including the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958.

The application of the MLC, 2006 is overseen by the ILO. In 2012, the Philippines ratified the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006, an affirmation of its commitment to decent work for seafarers.

The amendments will enter into force by December 2024.