Regulation 2.1 – CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Purpose: To ensure that seafarers have a fair employment agreement

1. The terms and conditions of employment of a seafarer shall be set out or referred to in a clear written legally enforceable agreement and shall be consistent with the standards set out in the Code.
2. Seafarers’ employment agreements shall be agreed to by the seafarer under conditions which ensure that the seafarer has an opportunity to review and seek advice on the terms and conditions in the agreement and freely accepts them before signing.
3. To the extent compatible with the Member’s national law and practice, seafarers’ employment agreements shall be understood to incorporate any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Standard – Seafarers’ employment agreements

1.Each Member shall adopt laws or regulations requiring that ships that fly its flag comply with the following requirements:
(a) seafarers working on ships that fly its flag shall have a seafarers’ employment agreement signed by both the seafarer and the shipowner or a representative of the shipowner (or, where they are not employees, evidence of contractual or similar arrangements) providing them with decent working and living conditions on board the ship as required by this Convention;
(b) seafarers signing a seafarers’ employment agreement shall be given an opportunity to examine and seek advice on the agreement before signing, as well as such other facilities as are necessary to ensure that they have freely entered into an agreement with a sufficient understanding of their rights and responsibilities;
(c) the shipowner and seafarer concerned shall each have a signed original of the seafarers’ employment agreement;
(d) measures shall be taken to ensure that clear information as to the conditions of their employment can be easily obtained on board by seafarers, including the ship’s master, and that such information, including a copy of the seafarers’ employment agreement, is also accessible for review by officers of a competent authority, including those in ports to be visited; and
(e) seafarers shall be given a document containing a record of their employment on board the ship.

2.Where a collective bargaining agreement forms all or part of a seafarers’ employment agreement, a copy of that agreement shall be available on board. Where the language of the seafarers’ employment agreement and any applicable collective bargaining agreement is not in English, the following shall also be available in English
(except for ships engaged only on domestic voyages):
(a) a copy of a standard form of the agreement; and
(b) the portions of the collective bargaining agreement that are subject to a port State inspection

3.The document referred to in above point 1(e) of this Standard shall not contain any statement as to the quality of the seafarers’ work or as to their wages. The form of the document, the particulars to be recorded and the manner in which such particulars are to be entered, shall be determined by national law.

4.Each Member shall adopt laws and regulations specifying the matters that are to be included in all seafarers’ employment agreements governed by its national law. Seafarers’ employment agreements shall in all cases contain the following particulars:
(a) the seafarer’s full name, date of birth or age, and birthplace;
(b) the shipowner’s name and address;
(c) the place where and date when the seafarers’ employment agreement is entered into;
(d) the capacity in which the seafarer is to be employed;
(e) The number of the seafarer’s wages or, where applicable, the formula used for calculating them;
(f) the amount of paid annual leave or, where applicable, the formula used for calculating it;
(g) the termination of the agreement and the conditions thereof, including:
(i) if the agreement has been made for an indefinite period, the conditions entitling either party to terminate it, as well as the required notice period, which shall not be less for the shipowner than for the seafarer;
(ii) if the agreement has been made for a definite period, the date fixed for its expiry; and
(iii) if the agreement has been made for a voyage, the port of destination and
the time which has to expire after arrival before the seafarer should be discharged;
(h) the health and social security protection benefits to be provided to the seafarer by the shipowner;
(i) the seafarer’s entitlement to repatriation;
(j) reference to the collective bargaining agreement, if applicable; and
(k) any other particulars which national law may require.

5.Each Member shall adopt laws or regulations establishing minimum notice periods to be given by the seafarers and shipowners for the early termination of a seafarers’ employment agreement. The duration of these minimum periods shall be determined after consultation with the shipowners’ and seafarers’ organisations concerned, but shall not be shorter than 7 days.

6.A notice period shorter than the minimum may be given in circumstances which are recognised under national law or regulations or applicable collective bargaining agreements as justifying termination of the employment agreement at shorter notice or without notice. In determining those circumstances, each Member shall ensure that the need of the seafarer to terminate, without penalty, the employment agreement on shorter notice or without notice for compassionate or other urgent reasons is taken into account.

Guideline– Record of employment

In determining the particulars to be recorded in the record of employment, each Member should ensure that this document contains sufficient information, with a translation in English, to facilitate the acquisition of further work or to satisfy the sea-service requirements for upgrading or promotion. A seafarers’ discharge book (CDC) may satisfy the requirements of that Standard.