Once an everyday buzzword in the world of superyachts not much has been heard of the MLC in recent months. John Cook of Lesia the employment specialists has penned this update:
Since November 2013 the first 30 Members of the ILO that ratified MLC, 2006 have been submitting the first of their annual reports to the ILO in accordance with article 22 of the ILO Constitution which states; “Each of the Members agrees to make an annual report to the International Labour Office on the measures which it has taken to give effect to the provisions of Conventions to which it is a party. These reports shall be made in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Governing Body may request”
The reports are then reviewed by the “Committee of Experts in the Application of Conventions and Recommendations”, (CEACR) who publish their comments on the effectiveness of the Member to apply the convention.
As of today only 14 Members have had “comments” published by the CEACR and it is quite clear that whilst there may be individual yachts/yacht owners/yacht management companies that have had deficiencies under either a Flag State inspection or Port State control, the Member states are also deficient in applying certain aspects of the Convention.
So far the most deficiencies by the 14 Members are under:
- Title 2, Conditions of Employment
- Title 4, Health Protection, Medical care, Welfare and Social Security Protection
- Title 5. Compliance and Enforcement
Only a few of the Member states that register yachts have submitted their annual reports yet, however many of these are in the process of preparing their reports for submission later in this year.
The comments made by the CEACR have to be addressed by the Member states and so far the ILO has requested the issues be addressed and reported back on in 2016.