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Maritime - Shipping
The ILO, since its founding, has adopted many international labour standards for seafarers. In 2006, the 94th Maritime Session of the International Labour Conference adopted the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. The Convention consolidated nearly all earlier ILO standards for seafarers into a single Convention. The MLC, 2006, entered into force on 20 August 2013, establishing minimum working and living standards for all seafarers on those ships. The other key ILO standard for seafarers is the Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185), which provides a new seafarers' identity document that enhances maritime security while facilitating shore leave and the professional movement of seafarers. The main focus of ILO's maritime programme is the promotion of these standards using all of the ILO's means of action and through the publication of codes of practice, guidelines and reports addressing seafarers' labour issues. The Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission periodically meets to updating of the recommended minimum monthly basic pay or wage figure for able seafarers, as provided for in the MLC, 2006. The Special Tripartite Committee of the MLC, 2006, among other things, considers amendments to the Convention and keeps it under continuous review.
Resources
- Guidelines for implementing the occupational safety and health provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
- Guidelines on the training of ships’ cooks
- Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers
- Guidelines for flag State inspections under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended
- Guidelines for port State control officers carrying out inspections under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended
- Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers Detained in Connection with Alleged Crimes
- ILO Handbook: Guidance on implementing the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 - Model National Provisions
- ILO Handbook: Guidance on implementing the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and Social Security for Seafarers
- ILO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006)
- ILO Guidelines on how to deal with seafarer abandonment cases
- ILO/IMO/WHO International medical guide for ships
Database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers
Committees and Joint meetings
Events
Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission (April 2025)
Third meeting of the Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group to Identify and Address Seafarers’ Issues and the Human Element
Second Meeting of the Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group to Identify and Address Seafarers’ Issues and the Human Element
News
Maritime sector
ILO and IMO recommend new steps against shipboard violence, harassment, and sexual assault
Inland waterways sector
New conclusions and recommendations pave the way to decent work in the inland waterways sector
Just and sustainable workplace
Closing message at the National Conference of Employers in the Philippines
All publications
Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers detained in connection with alleged crimes
Decent and sustainable work in the inland waterways sector
Challenges and opportunities to advance decent work in five countries and supply chains: A synthesis report