ARODI NEWSLETTER

Merchant Marine Circular No. 271

Please find attached copy of MerchantMarine Circular No. 271 recently issued by Panama Maritime Authority (PMA).

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 was adopted in Geneva in February 23, 2006, within the frame of the 94th Maritime Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference, as a result of the joint initiative of shipowners and seafarers, with the main objective to adopt a global instrument that gathers in one sole document the fundamental principles of various international labour conventions. 

To come into force, the MLC 2006 had to be ratified by at least 30 ILO member states representing the 33% of the world gross tonnage of ships.  ILO announced that this requirement was reached on August 20, 2012; consequently, the Convention will enter into force next August 20, 2013.  Before this deadline, States that are part of the Convention will have to adapt their national legislation and implement internal measures for ongoing compliance and complete the certification process for all ships coming within the scope of the Convention. 

The MLC 2006 was adopted by the Republic of Panama through Law No. 2 of January 6, 2009.  See attached complete text of the Convention.

The competent authority for the certification and application of the MLC 2006 in the Republic of Panama is PMA, that has been working in the process of adaptation of national legislation.  This process is already ended and certification will begin on March 2013.

With this circular, the Administration wants to inform that the MLC 2006 is regulated through Executive Decree No. 86 of February 22, 2013.  This document was extensively discussed in tripartite sessions with participation of representatives of seafarers, shipowners and PMA.  See attached complete text of this regulation.

This regulation contains the minimum requirements for working on board ships, conditions of work, wages, prior-notice period, overtime hours, regular working day, official holidays, annual vacations, minimum hours of rest, health and social security benefits, maximum duration of interrupted service on board, right of repatriation, collective bargaining if applicable, termination of the agreement, MLC certification process, among other related topics.

In case of any question about MLC 2006, please contact mlc@segumar.com

If you need further assistance regarding this matter, please contact us to arodilaw@arodi.com