ICS is pleased to include an IMEC representative in our Labour Affairs Committee and also in the ILO Shipowner Group at ILO meetings. To demonstrate the types of issues covered, here are some recent examples of our work.

ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006

ICS guidance on manning agencies

ICS on board training record book for ship’s cooks

Human rights in shipping

ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006

The Committee works on all issues related to the employment of seafarers and governed by the above convention. Members are regularly required to prepare for discussions at ILO including the Special Tripartite Committee and additional meetings such as the one immediately below.

ILO SECTORAL MEETING ON THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF SEAFARERS AND THE PROMOTION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN SEAFARERS

Members attended an ILO meeting in 2019 following a resolution adopted in 2006. Follow – up actions of ICS, included:

• Reviewing all the “Recommendations” and developing an action plan
• Participation in the WMU Conference to encourage more women into maritime;
• Production of an ICS video animation for World Maritime Day 2019 in four languages
• Sponsorship of IMO panel event to promote opportunities for women in shipping
• Numerous Events to promote opportunities in maritime;
• Regional activities and events in Europe and Asia respectively;

ICS guidance on manning agencies

A small ad hoc working group including IMEC representatives has been involved in preparing new ICS good practice guidance for manning agencies which is expected to be released shortly.

DIVERSITY

Two new panels have been established to review issues relating to diversity and women in shipping. Each comprises six senior industry leaders. The first meetings were in early 2020. New ICS age discrimination guidance is available for download from the ICS Website.

ICS SURVEY ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The survey has been completed and shared with the panels to determine additional factors to analyze and will be produced post pandemic.

ICS VIDEO ANIMATION FOR WORLD MARITIME DAY 2019

ICS developed a video animation to mark World Maritime Day 2019, following the theme of “Empowering Women in Maritime”. The three-minute film promoted women in shipping and has been well-received. It is available in English, French, Spanish and Greek.

RATIFICATIONS OF THE MLC

The MLC has now been ratified by 97 countries and the committee continues to work on seeking ratifications to the same level as SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW.

MANDATORY PREGNANCY TESTING

Mandatory pregnancy testing is likely to be raised by the Seafarers or a Government at the next ILO Special Tripartite Committee (STC) in April 2021. The issue must be dealt with holistically due the complexity and differences between countries/jurisdictions and provisions concerning pregnancy testing are in the IMO-ILO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers.

ILO VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT CONVENTION, 2019 (C.190)

The International Labour Conference adopted ILO Convention No. 199 in June 2019 to address violence and harassment at work which will enter into force in May 2021. ICS lobbied IOE to exclude shipping from this Convention which duplicated MLC provisions. It applies to all workers including, terminated workers, volunteers, job seekers and job applicants.

SCHENGEN VISAS

ICS and ECSA work jointly on the revision of the Schengen Visa Code and preparation of a new implementation handbook. The revised Schengen Code came into effect in February 2020.

ABANDONMENT CASES
ICS reviews outstanding abandonment cases, specifically those shown as active on the ILO-IMO Database on the Abandonment of Seafarers to try to assist in getting these resolved and advised to ILO and IMO.

ICS on board training record book for ship’s cooks

ICS is producing an ICS On Board Training Record Book for Ship’s Cooks based on the competences agreed in the ILO Guidelines on the training of ship’s cooks which will be added to the suite of ICS On Board Training Record Books.

Human rights in shipping

A recent presentation was held with the Institute of Human Rights and Business (IHRB) which reviews human rights across the entire life of a ship, ship operations, shipbuilding and ship recycling. Companies including Maersk, Anglo American and BP are involved, and customers such as IKEA who are reviewing ethics in the broader supply chain. It is important to become consider human rights discourse otherwise people will not understand maritime employers’ efforts and record on seafarers human rights, including maritime labour rights.