This paper examines the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006, the international framework that establishes minimum working and living standards for seafarers. Beginning with an overview of the convention's scope and the stakeholders it covers, the paper outlines minimum requirements for working on a ship — including age limits, medical certification, and training qualifications — before turning to conditions of employment such as contracts, wages, working and rest hours, leave, and repatriation. It then addresses accommodation, food, and catering standards, followed by health protection, medical care, accident prevention, and access to shore-based welfare facilities. The paper concludes by reviewing social security entitlements and the ship owner's liabilities under the MLC.
Many seafarers ply waters distant miles away from their homes. The categories of people in maritime transport include seafarers and ship owners, who are often of different nationalities since ships operate under different flags as they travel from their country of origin to other countries. Seafarers frequently face difficult working conditions arising from occupational risks. Working far from home exposes them to challenges such as exploitation, abuse, unpaid wages, non-compliance with contracts, poor diet, poor living conditions, and sometimes abandonment in foreign ports. These realities necessitated the development of laws and expectations governing the industry — a need addressed by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006. The MLC sets out expected working conditions and elevates maritime standards to globalized benchmarks. The Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) is among the security and quality management frameworks applicable to ships.
The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) drives the principles of the international maritime organization, ensuring safety and quality working standards in the industry. It facilitates the enforcement of those standards through a clear system of certification and inspection by flag states and port authorities (The Maritime Labor Convention, 2006). The MLC covers various stakeholders in the maritime industry — specifically, all ships operating in international waters, with the following exceptions. It exempts ships that navigate within inland waters, waters close to the coast, sheltered waters, and ports governed by port regulations. It does not cover fishing vessels or ships of a traditional build, such as junks and dhows. Warships and naval auxiliaries also fall outside the convention's scope. Furthermore, ships below 200 GT that do not engage in international voyages and are covered by the national laws of the country of operation are not within the MLC's framework (The Maritime Labor Convention, 2006). The convention covers seafarers — that is, anyone employed, engaged, or working in any capacity on board a ship, including riding gangs and hotel staff on cruise ships. It contains sections addressing the requirements for working on a ship, the rights of workers, and conditions of employment within the industry.
The minimum requirements address factors such as age, medical certification, training qualifications, and recruitment and placement. Regarding age, the minimum requirement to work on board a ship is 16 years; a person of that age may only work during daytime hours. The age limit for working both day and night hours is 18 years. These provisions help eliminate child labour and the abuse of children, while also promoting safety and responsibility in the workplace. With respect to medical qualifications, the minimum requirements include certification of the physical and mental fitness of the individual for the duties they are employed to perform. The medical certificate must be in English and is valid for a maximum of two years (McConnell, Devlin & Doumbia, 2011). This means seafarers must undergo regular health assessments to confirm their fitness. For seafarers under 18 years of age, the medical certificate is valid for only one year. Exemptions exist in urgent cases, allowing a person to work for up to three months without a valid health certificate until they reach the next port of call where an approval certificate can be obtained. The MLC thus provides clearly outlined requirements regarding the medical certification of seafarers.
Regarding training and qualifications, the MLC stipulates that seafarers must have appropriate training in the expectations relevant to their duties on board, and must hold proper qualifications and certification demonstrating competency in performing those duties. Accordingly, the hiring of unskilled labour is not permitted under the MLC (The Maritime Labor Convention, 2006). Training must also include personal safety instruction, since working in the maritime industry is hazardous and ships face risks from the natural environment on a daily basis. It is essential that every person working on board receive adequate safety training. Furthermore, any training and qualifications held must conform to the standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This means the person must hold a certificate from an authorized training institution that meets IMO standards.
With respect to recruitment and placement, the MLC provides that member states, or ships flying the flags of member states, should establish proper procedures for placement, registration, complaints, and compensation during the recruitment process. Recruitment is a matter for the member state or flag-state ship, and it must be open and compliant with the regulations of that state. The recruitment process should also consider training and qualification standards that align with IMO requirements (The Maritime Labor Convention, 2006).
The Maritime Labour Convention outlines various conditions within the contract of employment that govern the employment relationship and specify the terms of agreement. The employment contract is between the seafarers and ship owners, who are obligated to provide fair working and living conditions. The contract must be in English, as this is the recognized language of communication in the industry (McConnell, Devlin & Doumbia, 2011). The contract must contain certain details, including the name and address of the ship owner, the name, date, and place of birth of the seafarer, the place and date of signing, and the conditions and terms regarding the termination of the agreement. It must also include provisions for health and social security protection benefits provided by the ship owner, and must outline the seafarer's rights to repatriation. Additionally, the following procedural requirements apply: the seafarer must have the opportunity to read and consider the contract before signing it; the seafarer must receive a record of their employment; and upon signing, both the ship owner and the seafarer must each retain their own copy of the signed contract.
The Maritime Labour Convention stipulates that seafarers must receive their wages on a regular basis, in accordance with the terms agreed upon between them and the ship owner — whether weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or on another schedule. Monthly statements of account must be provided to the seafarers. The convention also states that a seafarer may transfer part or all of their wages to a savings destination of their choice. Given that seafarers operate across many countries, the convention further provides that currency conversion charges must be kept at reasonable levels.
The MLC outlines procedures governing working hours for seafarers. National legislation must implement minimum rest-hour provisions. Working hours must not exceed 14 hours within any 24-hour period or 72 hours within any seven-day period. In terms of rest, a seafarer must receive at least 10 hours of rest within any 24-hour period, and cumulative rest over an entire week must total at least 77 hours (Dimitrova & Blanpain, 2010). Where rest is split into separate periods, it must not be divided into more than two periods, and one of those periods must be at least six hours in duration. Crew exercises such as lifeboat drills must be arranged to minimize disruption to seafarers' rest periods.
Like workers in many other sectors, seafarers are entitled to a holiday period. The convention provides that seafarers must receive 2.5 days of leave for every month of the employment calendar (McConnell, Devlin & Doumbia, 2011). Leave includes both annual leave and shore leave, both of which are counted as normal working hours and therefore attract wages. The following do not qualify as part of annual leave: public and customary holidays, time off for illness, injury, or maternity, temporary shore leave, and compensatory leave.
The Maritime Labour Convention affirms that seafarers have the right to return to their home country. Circumstances that entitle a seafarer to repatriation include the ending or cancellation of their employment contract, inability to continue their duties for any reason, a shipwreck, or assignment to a ship heading for a warzone that the seafarer does not consent to enter (McConnell, Devlin & Doumbia, 2011). Employers may not require seafarers to pay in advance for the cost of repatriation. If the employer fails to arrange repatriation, the Maritime and Coastguard Authority (MCA) may provide it on the seafarer's behalf.
The convention protects seafarers when a ship is lost or becomes inoperable while the employment contract remains in force. The seafarer retains the right to unemployment payments from the ship owner as bound by the contract. In compensation terms, the ship owner bears the liability and must honour the terms of the MLC. However, wages paid under these circumstances may be capped at up to two months.
The convention requires that ships be sufficiently staffed, facilitating the prevention of abuse and the overworking of seafarers while on board.
"On-board living standards and catering requirements"
"Medical care, accident prevention, and welfare access"
"Social security entitlements and employer financial obligations"
The Maritime Labour Convention, established in 2006, is facilitating the adoption of consistent working standards for seafarers worldwide. The protection of seafarers' rights is central to ensuring quality work on board ships. The convention draws on related international maritime standards to provide guidelines that promote safety and decent working conditions for everyone employed at sea.
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