MLC | Covid-19 | Seafarers Rights International

The impact

COVID-19 was largely unanticipated. But from the time the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the Director-General of the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020, it was reported that gross and persistent violations occurred of the core rights and principles contained not only in the Articles and Regulations of the MLC but also in the mandatory standards in the Code of the MLC.

There was international recognition throughout the UN system and its specialised agencies, and across most of the maritime industry, that the rights of seafarers to repatriation, maximum periods of service on board, shore leave, sick leave, personal safety, medical treatment and access to shore-based welfare facilities were denied, diminished or ignored.

In a General Observation adopted at its 91st session in Nov-Dec 2020, the CEACR recalled that:

“The Office has also received information about hundreds of individual seafarers’ complaints which have been sent directly by the seafarers concerned or transmitted by the Seafarer Crisis Action Team set up by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)”.

And that

“Both the ITF and the ICS indicate that they have received thousands of individual claims from seafarers around the world describing desperate situations of violations of the provisions of the MLC, 2006. Seafarers are requested to continue working beyond the terms agreed in their seafarers’ employment agreements (SEAs), they are denied access to medical care ashore (Regulation 4.1) and are deprived from their rights to repatriation (Regulation 2.5), annual leave and shore leave (Regulation 2.4) in a number of cases. It is recalled that most ships do not have medically trained staff on board and as consequence when access to medical care ashore is denied, seafarers have no medical care whatsoever.”

The CEACR stated:

“… based on the information provided by the ITF and the ICS and the evidence available at the Office, the provisions of the Convention continue to be disregarded worldwide… The Committee stresses that the failure to apply any of the core principles and requirements… under the pretext of a protracted health crisis risks, may render the Convention meaningless especially at a time and in circumstances where its protective coverage would be most needed”.

The calls

The UN system and the international maritime industry responded to these failures by achieving an unprecedented level of cooperation. There was also an unprecedented number of calls from over 200 entities to address the plight of seafarers and to support
the maritime industry.

Some examples follow:

On 1 December 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/75/L.37 on International cooperation to address challenges faced by seafarers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic to support global supply chain which:

“… 2. Calls upon the United Nations system … to work with all relevant actors in order to mobilize a coordinated global response to the pandemic and its adverse social, economic and financial impact on all societies;
3. Urges Member States to designate seafarers and other marine personnel as key workers; …
5. Calls upon Governments to promptly implement relevant measures designed to facilitate maritime crew changes, including by enabling embarkment and disembarkment and expediting travel and repatriation efforts as well as ensuring access to medical care…”.

On 8 December 2020, the 340th session of the Governing Body of the ILO adopted the Resolution concerning maritime labour issues and the Covid-19 pandemic which:

“1. Urges all Members, in accordance with applicable national laws and regulations, to: … (b) designate seafarers as “key workers”, for the purpose of facilitation of safe and unhindered movement for embarking or disembarking a vessel, and the facilitation of shore leave, and when necessary, to shore-based medical treatment…; (d) ensure that a seafarer who is in need of immediate medical care is given access to medical facilities ashore, emergency medical treatment regardless of nationality and, where necessary, emergency repatriation…
2. Calls upon Members that have ratified the MLC, 2006, to adopt without delay the necessary measures to fully implement the Convention in law and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in coordination among relevant ministries and agencies within national administrations, in cooperation with other ratifying Members and in consultation with relevant social partners…”.

On 25 March 2021, the Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued a Joint Statement calling on all Governments to prioritize Covid-19 vaccination for seafarers and aircrew:

“We reiterate our call upon countries that have not done so to designate seafarers and aircrew as key workers”.

In April 2021, the Special Tripartite Committee of the MLC adopted two resolutions specifically concerned with the pandemic: one concerning the implementation and practical application of the MLC during the pandemic which requested the ILO:

“ … to renew its call on Members to designate and treat seafarers as key workers …”

and the second which called upon States:

“to ensure that seafarers are provided with access to COVID-19 vaccination at the earliest opportunity”

The Joint Action Group established to review the impact of Covid-19 on the world’s transport workers and the global supply chain (JAG-TSC), which met finally in January 2023, made 23 recommendations including recommendations to Governments to:

“18. recognize the key role played by transport workers during PHEICs, in particular mobile and cross-border transport workers that serve the sustainment of essential supply chains, and, if not having already done so, designate them as “key workers”;

In addition, there were many industry calls.

Responses to calls for “key worker” designations

Many States responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by designating seafarers as “key workers”.

In a Circular Letter of 15 November 2022, the Secretary-General of the IMO stated that 66 notifications had been received from Member States, and two from Associate Members, that they had designated seafarers as key workers. The list of Member States and Associated Members is as follows:

Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Barbados; Brazil; Bangladesh; Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada; Chile; Croatia; Cyprus; Denmark; Dominica; Egypt; Finland; France; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Georgia; Germany; Greece; India; Indonesia; Iran; Ireland; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kiribati; Kenya; Lebanon; Liberia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Moldova; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nigeria; Norway; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Republic of Korea; Romania; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Slovenia; Spain; Singapore; South Africa; Sweden; Thailand; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Venezuela; and Yemen. The Associate Members are: Faroes and Hong Kong (China).