ILO’s Maritime Labor Convention: Amendments to Improve Seafarer Working and Living Conditions
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) welcomes the series of landmark updates to ILO’s Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), following an intense week of negotiations at the International Labor Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva. Under ILO’s Special Tripartite Committee on the MLC, governments, shipowners, and unions met from April 7-11, 2025, to review and adopt crucial updates that reflect the evolving needs of seafarers and the maritime industry.
Among the suite of amendments agreed to improve the working and living conditions of seafarers on board ships were provisions for seafarers to be designated as key workers, strengthened requirements to support seafarer repatriation, new mandatory measures to ensure that they have access to shore leave without needing a visa or special permit, and enhanced protections against bullying and harassment.
Another notable development from last week’s session was the agreement for inclusion of a new provision into the MLC, recommending the carriage of the ICS International 2Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers on board ships, complementing an existing requirement for all ships to carry a medical guide on board. The guide was developed with support from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and theInternational Maritime Health Association (IMHA).
The ILO maritime tripartite regulatory structure brings together national governments, alongside a global shipowners group co-ordinated by ICS and a global seafarers group co-ordinated by ITF. The meeting also agreed a package of complementary resolutions, one of which established a framework for a future joint meeting between the ILO tripartite partners and Member States of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to review and potentially align overlapping seafarer hours of work and rest provisions, within the remit of conventions overseen by both organisations.
