Support Our Seafarers
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC), the “Seafarers’ Bill of Rights,” will go into effect this Tuesday, 20 August 2013. This new International Labour Organization (ILO) convention consolidates and updates more than 68 international labor standards in the maritime sector. It sets minimum global standards for seafarers’ living and working conditions. This will ensure that there are globally agreed standards for seafarers and their right to decent working conditions. It will also provide clarity of regulatory approach and remove obstacles to regional trade. It ensures a level playing field for the UK and Canadian merchant fleets, among other signatories, because the Convention will require ships registered in other states to meet internationally agreed standards.
The U.S. merchant fleet? Not so much. The Senate has not ratified MLC 2006, despite endorsements by the U.S. Coast Guard and US maritime unions, so the Convention is not enforceable in the Port of San Diego. Our senators need to hear from you by email.