Iceland and Ethiopia have become the latest member states of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC 2006), which sets out minimum international working and living conditions for seafarers on board vessels.
The latest ratifications take the number of states that have signed up to the MLC to 92 – representing more than 91percent of the world merchant shipping fleet. This is nearing the ILO’s target to achieve 100 ratifications this year, which is the centenary of the organisation’s foundation.
Iceland has a merchant fleet of 200 ships, and its ratification means that all the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland – are now bound by the MLC 2006. The MLC will enter into force for the latest signatories in 2020, one year after its ratification.
Reference: itfseafarers.org