UK Moves Towards MLC Implementation News

The move was welcomed by seafarers’ union Nautilus as a major step towards implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) -- the so-called ‘bill of rights’ for seafarers. Approval of the order will enable any necessary changes to primary and secondary legislation to be made simply and efficiently.

Outgoing shipping minister Jim Fitzpatrick told the committee that the MLC will bring significant benefits to the shipping industry. ‘The government have long recognised the importance of the human element in maritime activity,’ he added. ‘Furthermore, we believe that the convention will not only improve seafaring life, but have a beneficial effect on maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution.’

Nautilus general secretary, Mark Dickinson, welcomed the outcome. ‘We devoted substantial efforts to the six-year negotiating process that resulted in the adoption of the Convention in 2006. We believe it will do much to tackle the problems that have plagued the shipping industry and will help to provide the basis for decent work for all the world’s 1.2m seafarers,’ he added.

Introducing the motion in the House of Lords, Labour Peer Lord Tunnicliffe said the UK, having played a leading role in the development of the Convention, is ‘committed to its ratification as soon as domestic law and practice are fully in line with the Convention’s requirements’. Lord Tunnicliffe said the MLC would help to address the problem of fatigue, with requirements for ships to have sufficient seafarers onboard for the particular nature and conditions of a voyage.

Shadow transport spokesman Earl Attlee said he hoped the convention ‘will be seen as the beginning of the end of unfair employment agreements for seafarers’ and would become the fourth pillar of the international legal regime for the global shipping industry. He cited evidence from Nautilus to highlight the problems of unfair competition and inadequate safe manning requirements – with a survey by the Union showing some 16% of members admitting to inaccurate hours of work and rest records.

‘So far, we have been relatively lucky,’ he added, ‘but, sooner or later, one of these ships will run into something much more vulnerable when the officer on watch is asleep or, perhaps, incapacitated, as has happened in another incident. One only has to think of the consequences of a large merchantman running into the side of a passenger ferry or LNG tanker.’

The Convention has not yet been ratified by sufficient member states for any date to be set for it coming into force but the EU is encouraging its members to ratify by the end of 2010.