Fishing vessel accommodation

232 Pages·2010·4.72 MB·English

Handbook
for improving living and
working conditions
on board fishing vessels
Copyright © International Labour Organization 2010
First published 2010
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Handbook for improving living and working conditions on board fishing vessels
ISBN978-92-2-124027-3 (print)
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First preliminary version, 2010
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Preface
Thereareover30millionfishersworldwideandatleast15millionofthesearework-
ing full time on board fishing vessels.
Workinthefishingsectorhasmanycharacteristicsthatsetitapartfromworkinother
sectors.Theharvestingoffishandofmarineresourcestakesplaceintheoften-chal-
lengingmarineenvironment.Whentheweatherconditionsareharsh,astheyoftenare,
orwhenthecatchitselfpresentsarisk,therateofaccidentsandfatalitiescanbequite
high;infact,inmanycountries,fishingisthemosthazardousoccupation.Incasesof
accidentorillness,afishermaybefarfromprofessionalmedicalcareandmustrelyon
fellowcrewmemberstotakecareofhimorheruntilbroughtashore.
Fishing is also an occupation with long-standing traditions. One of these, found
throughout the world, is that of not paying fishers a set wage, but instead paying
thembasedonashareofthecatch.Whilethishascertainadvantagesforthefisher,
thesystemmaytoleadtoverylongworkinghours,atendencytoremainatseaduring
bad weather (which would otherwise motivate fishers to return home) and thus
greater risks and more accidents.
Many fishers are owner-operators and often live in remote communities that offer only
limitedalternativesforemployment.Atthesametime,formany,fishingisbecominga
moreglobalizedsector;fishersfromseveraldifferentcountriesmaybefoundonavessel
withanownerfromanotherstateotherthantheirownandflyingtheflagofyetanother.
Theseandotherfactorscallforspecialconsiderationsfortheseworkers.However,in
many countries fishers seem to fall, at least in part, through gaps in the system of
laws, regulations and measures that protect other workers which may create a “de-
centwork”deficit.Inlinewithitsobjectiveofprovidingdecentworkforall,theInter-
national Labour Organization (ILO) is seeking to prevent this deficit from occuring.
Fishersneed globalstandards that provide protection, reflect their specialsituation
and allow for sufficient flexibility in order to account for the differences within the
sector and among different ILO member States. Legal protection must not only be
provided for those working on large, industrial fishing vessels, but also on smaller
ones.Standards musttake intoaccount thelevelsofdevelopment andthediffering
institutionalcapacitiesofallILOmemberStates.Aboveall,standardsmustserveto
improve the conditions of as many fishers as possible.
In 2007, the ILO adopted two new instruments specifically tailored for the fishing
sector: the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) and the Work in Fishing
Recommendation,2007(No.199).ThesestandardsdemonstratetheILO’srenewed
commitment to providing decent work for all fishers.
ThetextsofConventionNo.188andRecommendationNo.199,asinternationalle-
galinstruments,arewritteninaspecificlegalformat.Whatisnowcalledforisapub-
licationthatmakestheprovisionsofthesestandardscomealivethroughexplanation,
discussion, and ideas on how they might be implemented by ILO member States.
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Handbook for improving living and working conditions
on board fishing vessels
ThisHandbookonimprovinglivingandworkingconditionsonboardfishingvessels
has been developed to assist competent authorities, representative organizations of
employers and workers (in particular, representative organizations of fishing vessel
ownersandfishers),aswellasotherswithaninterestinthesector,inordertogaina
betterunderstandingoftheprovisionsofConventionNo.188andRecommendation
No.199.Inparticular,itattemptstolookateachoftheprovisionsofthesestandards
fromthepointofviewofgovernmentofficials,fishingvesselowners,fishersandin-
spectors. This may help to stimulate national tripartite discussion and may
encourageStatestotakeconcretestepstowardsimplementationandratificationofthe
Convention.Mostimportantly,whetherornotaStatedecidestoratifytheConvention
immediatelyorotherwise,theHandbookwillbeausefultoolforlookingatthecurrent
legalprotectionoffishers,foranalyzingthesituation,andformakingimprovements.
Apublicationofthisnaturecannotgointogreatdepthoneverysingleissuecovered
bytheConventionandRecommendation,norcanitaddresseveryquestionthatmay
arise concerning the provisions of these standards. The International Labour Office
thereforewelcomes,andwillseektoaddressspecificquestionsconcerningthesein-
struments that may arise during their consideration by member States.
The ILO gratefully acknowledges the financial support for this publication provided
by the Government of Norway, through the Norway-ILO Cooperation Agreement of
2008-2009, a project on Enhancing Labour Inspection Effectiveness. The ILO fur-
ther acknowledges the support provided through the Project on Institutional
Strengthening oftheConstituents oftheILO;thePromotion ofConventionNo.188
onWorkintheFishingSector, fundedbytheMinistryofLabourandImmigrationof
Spain,incollaboration withthe ILO’sInternational Training Centre andSpain’sSo-
cialMarineInstitute;togetherwiththeProjectforaRationalandSustainableDevel-
opment of the Fishing Sector, funded by Spain’s Ministry for the Environment and
Rural and Marine Affairs.
TheHandbookhasbeenproducedbytheILO’sSectoralActivitiesDepartment;inco-
operation with the ILO’s Labour Administration and Inspection Programme, the
Workers’ Activities Bureau and Employers’ Activities Bureau, the International La-
bour Standards Department, the Social Security Department, and the International
Training Centre in Turin, Italy.
ThisOfficeisgratefultoMrDavidSparksandMrDomingoGonzalezfortheircontri-
bution to the preparation of this publication. The ILO wishes to acknowledge and
thank Ms Vera Albuquerque (Brazil), Mr Peter Ørebech (Norway), Captain Nigel
Campbell (South Africa), Professor Yeong-Woo Jeon (South Korea) and Mr Luis
Ambrosio(Spain)forthecountry-specificfishingsectorcasestudiestheyundertook,
which were valuable contributions to the Handbook.
Elizabeth Tinoco,
Director, ILO Sectoral Activities Department.
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Introduction
The objective of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) is to ensure that
fishershavedecentconditionsofworkonboardfishingvessels,regardingminimum
requirementsforworkonboard;conditionsofservice;accommodationandfood;oc-
cupational health and safety protection; medical care and social security.
ThetaskofrevisinganddevelopingacomprehensiveConventionthatcoversfish-
ing has been a long and complex process. In 2002, the ILO commenced work on
the drafting of complete and up-to-date international standards for the fishing
sector, in order to guarantee proper protection for fishers on a global scale. This
workinvolvedconsiderableresearchbytheInternationalLabourOfficeand,most
importantly, the commitment and deep involvement of the representatives of gov-
ernments,employers(inparticularfishingvesselowners)andworkers(inparticular
fishers’ representatives), and observers from inter-governmental and non-govern-
mental organizations.
TheConventionprovidesflexibilitywithrespecttocertainArticles,forexamplewhere
member States cannot immediately implement all of the measures provided for in
the Convention. Many provisions can onlybe implemented following“consultation”
with representative organizations of employers and workers (in particular, represen-
tative organizations of fishing vessel owners and of fishers).
Convention No. 188 revises the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No.
112),theMedicalExamination(Fishermen)Convention,1959(No.113),theFish-
ermen’sArticlesofAgreementConvention,1959(No.114)andtheAccommodation
of Crews (Fishermen) Convention, 1966 (No. 126). It also covers other important
questionssuchashealthandsafetyatwork;assignmentandhoursofrest;crewlist;
repatriation; recruitment and placement; and social security.
Convention No.188isaccompanied bythenon-binding Recommendation No.199
concerning work in the fishing sector.
TheadoptionoftheWorkinFishingConventionin2007wasastepforwardinachiev-
ingdecentworkforallpeopleworkingonfishingvessels.TheConventiondealswith
variousaspectsofworksuchasbetteraccommodation;foodandsafetyatwork;pay-
ment of fishers; medical care at sea and ashore; rest time; contract of employment
andsocialsecurity.Earlyandwideratification issupported byemployers,trade un-
ions and other professional organizations in the sector.
Thoseconcerned withtheimplementationoftheWorkinFishingConvention,2007
may also be involved in, or perhaps have recently completed, the process of imple-
menting and ratifying the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) (which
specifically excludes fishing vessels from its scope of application). While there are
many obvious differences between the shipping and fishing sectors, there are also
many similarities,as both seafarers and fishers work on board vessels. Therefore, it
maybeusefultodrawonlessonslearnedfromtheimplementationandratificationof
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Handbook for improving living and working conditions
on board fishing vessels
theMLC,2006.Likewise,itmayalsobeusefultocoordinate nationaleffortstoim-
plementandratifytheMLC,2006andtheWorkinFishingConvention,2007,foral-
though the two Conventions have major differences in structure, many of their
provisionsaddresssimilar,ifnotidentical,issues.Itisalsolikelythatinmanycoun-
tries existing laws and regulations for seafarers and fishers may overlap.
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Contents
Preface.....................................................................................................3
Introduction..............................................................................................5
Overview of Convention No.188 and Recommendation No. 199.....................9
Legal aspects..........................................................................................11
Administration.........................................................................................19
Part I Definitions...........................................................................25
Article 1 - Definitions...........................................................25
Article 2 – Article 5 - Scope ...........................................29–38
Part II General principles.................................................................45
Article 6 and Article 7 - Implementation ..........................45–48
Article 8 - Responsibilities of fishing vessel owners,
skippers and fishers..............................................51
Part III Minimum requirements.........................................................57
Article 9 - Minimum age ......................................................57
Article 10 – Article 12 - Medical examination....................66–76
Part IV Conditions of service.............................................................81
Article 13 and Article 14 - Manning and hours of rest..............81
Article 15 - Crew list.............................................................89
Article 16 – Article 20 - Fisher’s work agreement....................92
Article 21 - Repatriation.......................................................99
Article 22 - Recruitment and placement of fishers.................105
Article 23 and Article 24 - Payment of fishers.......................111
Part V Accommodation and food....................................................117
Article 25 – Article 28 - Accomodation and food ...........117–118
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Handbook for improving living and working conditions
on board fishing vessels
Part VI Medical care, health protection and social security ................131
Article 29 and Article 30 - Medical care.......................131–132
Article 31 – Article 33 - Occupational safety and
health and accident prevention.....................137–138
Article 34 – Article 37 - Social security................................148
Article 38 and Article 39 - Protection in case of
work-related sickness, injury or death....................149
Part VII Compliance and enforcement...............................................165
Article 40 – Article 44 - Compliance and
enforcement...............................................165–180
Part VIII Amendment of Annexes I, II and III......................................183
Article 45 - Amendment of Annexes I, II and III....................183
Part IX Final provisions..................................................................187
Article 46 – Article 54 - Final provisions.......................187–188
Annex 1 - Equivalence in measurement................................................193
Annex 2 - Fishers’ work agreement ......................................................194
Annex 3 - Fishing vessel accommodation..............................................195
Appendix 1 Sample comparative analysis document.................................207
Appendix 2 Protocol of assistance to maritime health services for
pre-sea medical examinations...............................................208
Appendix 3 Examples of medical certificates...........................................210
Appendix 4 Table of requirements for fishing vessels, in accordance
with Annex III of Convention No. 188 ...................................212
Appendix 5 South African Safe manning regulations................................224
References .........................................................................................225
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