Seafarers win minimum wage increase

ITF representatives met with maritime employer representatives from the International Shipping Federation (ISF) at the ILO last Thursday and Friday.

The sub-committee on wages of seafarers of the joint maritime commission agreed to increase the ILO monthly minimum wage from USD585 to USD592 from 1 January 2015. On 1 January 2016, this will increase to USD614.

Henrik Berlau, national secretary of Denmark’s Fagligt Faelles Forbund (3F), was one of the ITF representatives in attendance. He spoke on behalf of the ITF seafarers’ group during the two-day meeting.

Berlau said that shipowners and the ILO had worked with the unions to reach this decision, further saying: “We believe this demonstrates the social partners’ commitment to the provisions of the MLC on the minimum wage”.

The MLC finally came into force in August 2013, after almost a decade of work by the ITF, shipping organisations, the ILO and governments worldwide.