The “Maritime Labour Convention, 2006” (MLC 2006) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) will governs the working and living conditions on-board a ship for more than 1.4 million seafarers worldwide. It defines requirements concerning occupational health and safety, fair employment contract conditions, adequate accommodations as well as access to medical care, health care and social security. Inspection and certification under the Convention are applicable to ships of 500 GT or more engaged in international voyages.
The requirements of the Convention apply to all seafarers who are employed or engaged or who work in any capacity onboard the above ships. MLC inspection in addition to ISM and ISPS audits, can be conducted at the same time to simplify the certification process.
Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), 2006
Introduction
The ILO's Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), 2006 provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world's more than 1.2 million seafarers. The Convention aims to achieve both decent work for seafarers and secure economic interests in fair competition for quality ship-owners.
As an estimated 90% of world trade is carried on ships, seafarers are essential to international trade and the international economic and trade system. The new labor standard consolidates and updates more than 68 international labor standards related to the Maritime sector adopted over the last 80 years.
The Convention sets out seafarers' rights to decent conditions of work on a wide range of subjects, and aims to be globally applicable, easily understandable, readily updatable and uniformly enforced. It has been designed to become a global instrument known as the "fourth pillar" of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, complementing the key Conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
MLC 2006 Services provided by INSB Class
1. MLC Pre-Assessment
INSB Class offers a MLC pre-assessment of an owner's policies and procedures and of the manner these are implemented on board a vessel to determine if a vessel's documentation and labor management system complies with the flag State requirements based on the Convention.
Essentially is a gap analysis, which identifies where there may be shortcomings and provides suggested guidelines for bringing the procedures into compliance. The pre-assessment procedure includes:
- A review of the vessel's documentation
- An interview of onboard personnel
- An inspection of the vessel's working and living areas
The pre-assessment is optional but strongly recommended since it can assist clients in identifying improvement opportunities related to the seafarers' working and living conditions in advance of an application for certification
2. MLC Certification
As an organization recognized by several flag Administrations, INSB Class anticipates receiving authorization to conduct the required Maritime Labor Certificate and Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance reviews and onboard inspections to verify compliance with the Convention.
To meet the needs of our clients, INSB Class has trained a considerable number of Maritime Labor Inspectors, stationed worldwide, to carry out these reviews and inspections.
