Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention CONMARCON

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Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention
(CONMARCON)
Natalie Wiseman Secretary ISF
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• Consolidated Convention
• Key factors to consider
• ISF Unique Employer Role
• Unnecessary bureaucracy
• Over-regulation
• Poorly thought out rules

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Background

• 60 Current ILO instruments
• - many out of date
• - not widely ratified
• - conventions recommendations
• Unenforceable
• Vacuum not desirable
• ILO considering options
• 2001 Joint Maritime Commission
• End 2001 governments entered process

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Initial process

• 6 major meetings (150-200 delegates)
• Early debates all held in plenary
• Little discussion on detail
• Debates on major issues
• Structure
• Amendments
• Flexibility
• Enforcement
• Definitions

PTMC preparatory text
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Convention structure

• Preamble Non binding introduction to the
  convention
• Articles Legal provisions, amendments,
  definitions
• Regulations- Code A- Code B
  
• Title 1 Minimum conditions to work at sea
• Title 2 Conditions of employment
• Title 3 Accommodation, food and catering
• Title 4 Health, medical and social security
• Title 5 Compliance and enforcement

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Situation Before Preliminary Maritime Labour
Conference (PTMC)

• Many major issues agreed e.g. structure,
  flexibility status of the code
• Draft text produced
• 107 unresolved issues
• 99 undiscussed areas
• Certain difficult issues recognized
• e.g. definitions, social security
• Many technical issues not discussed

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PTMC Purpose

• 13- 24 September 2004
• Different interpretations based on personal
  experiences
• Tripartite Governments, Shipowners and
  Seafarers
• To narrow areas of disagreement
• To allow discussion understanding of remaining
  problems
• To provide space before final discussion

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PTMC Statistics

• 634 Delegates
• - 353 government (from 88 countries)
• - 112 shipowners
• -124 seafarers
• - 50 others
• 206 texts in brackets 21
• 159 submitted amendments for mature text

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Intersessional Meeting Statistics
Resolved Texts 17 Unresolved
texts 4 Total 21 Amend
ments Submitted Total SO SF Gov
Adopted 16 3 6 7 Likely to succeed in
2006 38 11 4 23 Unlikely to succeed in
2006 64 32 8 24 Withdrawn at meeting
11 2 3 6 Withdrawn before meeting
30 29 0 1 Total 159 77 21 61

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Major Outstanding Issues

• Concept - bill of rights or objective labour
  standards?
• Definition of Seafarer
• Masters work hour limits

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What needs to happen

• Recognise it is not a Bill of Rights.
• Governments must agree their position beforehand.
  
• Mature debate and rational arguement.
• Compromise where possible but not conceding if
  the convention will become impossible to ratify
• Send tripartite delegations for true social
  dialogue.

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Vision

• All in one clear easy to comprehend convention
• Well ratified
• Pillar like SOLAS MARPOL
• The HR Managers Bible
• Flag Port State Inspectors Guide
• Easy to update

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Natalie Wiseman
12 Carthusian Street London EC1M 6EZ Telephone
44 20 7417 8844 Fax [phone]
E-mail natalie.wiseman_at_marisec.org Website
www.marisec.org