|
GB.270/STM/4/2
|
|
Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues |
STM |
FOURTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Other questions
(b) Joint IMO/ILO Working Group to prepare standardized guidelines and format for the records of seafarers' hours of work or hours of rest in accordance with
the provisions of the Seafarers' Hours of Work
and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180)
and the IMO International Convention on Standards
of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, 1978,
as amended in 1995
(London, 19-23 January 1998)
1. At its 84th (Maritime) Session (Geneva, October 1996), the International Labour Conference adopted a resolution on the application of the Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180), inviting the Governing Body to request the Office, as a matter of priority, to develop the standardized format and guidelines referred to in Articles 5 and 8 of the Convention, taking into account the texts and proposals made by the Conference Committee and the discussions thereon. It also recommended that a tripartite group of experts be convened by the ILO to assist in this exercise.
2. The Governing Body was informed by the Director-General of the steps he foresaw to follow up on this request.(1) It was expected that there would be an immediate demand for the ILO to produce the guidelines and standardized format referred to in the resolution, and that these should be a helpful tool for member States preparing to implement the instrument. It was also thought important to start the preparation of the guidelines immediately, and the Director-General planned to reallocate some resources to the programme of the Sectoral Activities Department for 1996-97 for this work. In order to ensure harmonization between possible IMO and ILO guidelines and formats, he planned to consult the Secretary-General of the IMO on the possibility of organizing a joint meeting or working group to consider the draft guidelines and format for all groups of seafarers covered by the Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180) and the IMO's International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, 1978, as amended in 1995 (STCW Convention).
3. The Governing Body requested the Director-General to bear in mind the request made in the operative paragraph of the resolution in implementing current and future activities.
4. The Director-General has obtained from the Secretary-General of the IMO his views on the possibility of organizing a joint ILO/IMO Working Group to consider draft guidelines prepared by the Office. He also indicated that the Working Group could be comprised of four participants from the ILO (two Seafarer and two Shipowner representatives) and four participants from the IMO, and that the results would be submitted to the appropriate ILO and IMO bodies.
5. The Secretary-General accepted the Director-General's suggestions, and this was confirmed by the 68th Session of the IMO's Committee on Maritime Safety (MSC 68 -- 28 May-6 June 1997). The MSC also indicated that the Working Group should meet in London immediately after the 29th Session of the IMO's Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW29), which will meet from 12 to 16 January 1998. The four IMO participants, (Government representatives from Greece, India, Panama and the United States) will all participate in that meeting.
6. The Office has consulted the secretariats of the Shipowners' and Seafarers' groups of the Joint Maritime Commission on the composition of the Working Group and the proposed dates of 19-23 January. These are acceptable to them. As the Seafarer and Shipowner representatives will already be in London attending STW29, the Seafarers' and Shipowners' secretariats have agreed that these participants will not require reimbursement for travel and daily subsistence costs by the Office.
7. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues may wish to recommend that the Governing Body --
(a) authorize the holding of the Joint IMO/ILO Working Group to develop standardized guidelines and format for tables and records of hours of work or hours of rest, in accordance with the provisions of the Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention, 1996 (No. 180) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, 1978, as amended in 1995 (STCW), in London from 19 to 23 January 1998, with a composition of four ILO representatives (two Seafarer and two Shipowner representatives) and four IMO representatives;
(b) request the Director-General to communicate the decision to the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.
Geneva, 7 October 1997.
Point for decision: Paragraph 7.
1. GB.267/STM/4/1, para. 7.