The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has called on the stakeholders who have major roles to play in the realization of the improved living and working conditions for seafarers and Manning Agents to cooperate with it to ensure the success of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006.
Speaking at a special session with the Ship Owners, Manning Agents, Seafarers Employers and Seafarers to mark the commencement of the convention in Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday, the Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services NIMASA, Mr. Callistus Obi said that NIMASA would continue to solicit for a continued cooperation from all the relevant bodies to enable Nigeria to fulfill its obligation as a ratifying member country.
According to him,” to achieve the objective of MLC2006, this will solely depend on the cooperation of all stakeholders and in particular government, ship owners and seafarers whose roles are critical to the realization of the collective goals of improved living and working conditions for seafarers and improved quality shipping”.
“The Agency would therefore wish to solicit for a continued cooperation from all these various bodies to enable Nigeria fulfill its obligations as a ratifying member country”.
Tracing the background of the MLC 2006, Mr. Obi said that the journey started in 2001 though a proposal by ship owners and seafarers unions on the need to improve the living and working conditions of seafarers in a level playing field.
He went on to say that the need for an alternative convention for the global seafarers was based on poor ratifications of old seafarers conventions by most International Labour Organization (ILO) member states, unfair shipping practice, out of date of most of the conventions, difficult amendment procedures and non flexibility with few ratification triggered off the MLC 2006.
The Executive Director further hinted that the purpose of the convention was to consolidate all the existing seafarers conventions and to improve the applicability, readability and enforceability of the convention so that the ship owners and the government interested in providing decent condition of work to seafarers do not have to bear unequal burden thus create a level playing field.
Mr. Obi also listed what he called the landmark achievements made at the global level as regards the MLC 2006 to include, that there was an overwhelming number of adoptions by member states of ILO, that 60 ratifications including that of Nigeria had been achieved so far with Nigeria becoming the 5th country in Africa to do so.
Others include that currently, the convention is in force and is binding on ratifying countries of the ILO since August 20, 2013 and that the first special tripartite meeting on amendment of the convention took place on April 7th to 11th, 2014.
At the National level, he said, “ Nigeria through the agency facilitated the deposition of the ratified instrument on June 18th, 2013 at ILO, Geneva, Switzerland, the agency engaged the services of a legal consultant to develop a merchant shipping (seafarers Labour matters) regulations on the convention and carried out two stakeholders sensitization workshops for maritime stakeholders in Lagos and Port-Harcourt”.
He further listed other achievements of the agency in that regard to include, issued Marine notices to ship owners, Manning agents and mariners on the ratification and entry into force of the convention in Nigeria as well as participated in the special tripartite committee meeting on amendment of the convention held between April 7th an 11th, 2014 amongst others.
On her part, the Director, Maritime Labour Services Department NIMASA, Mrs. Juliana Gunwa enumerated the responsibilities of the Manning agents, Ship owners and seafarers in ensuring the success of the convention in Nigeria.
Mrs. Gunwa disclosed that although the ILO would not compel Nigeria to abide by the provisions of the convention, it would however, punish the country if it failed to honour the convention in form of sanctions and other penalties such as denial of technical support and training from the organization.
She therefore called on all stakeholders to work together towards ensuring the workability of the convention in the country as well as to enure a better living and working conditions of seafarers in the country.
