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Superconvention a landmark result, ITF and shipowners agree
23 February 2006
The ITF, along with shipowners, has lauded the adoption of a “superconvention” at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, today.
Delegates at the ILO’s Maritime Labour conference, which brought together government, shipowner and seafarer representatives from more than 100 countries, voted by 314 in favour of the Consolidated Maritime Convention (Conmarcon); there were just four abstentions. The ground-breaking convention will effectively provide seafarers with a bill of rights, setting out a framework for decent working conditions and covering areas such as health and safety, working hours and recruitment.
Conmarcon is the culmination of five years’ work to produce a single instrument that will be accepted as the “fourth pillar” of the international regulatory system for the global maritime industry, along with the International Maritime Organization’s safety, training and pollution conventions.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft described its adoption as “a historic result for the ILO showing that what has long been a global industry needs global regulation, which will be enforced in practice at sea and in the world’s ports.”
Chris Horrocks, Secretary General of the International Shipping Federation, the international employers’ organisation for ship operators, added: “This landmark decision is just the beginning. Now we have to ensure that every government ratifies this convention as soon as possible and applies it in full.”
Conmarcon, which brings together and updates over 65 other ILO maritime labour instruments, is expected to come into force within five years.
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