New measures help protect seafarers

In a measure that 300 participants at an International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting last week in Geneva said would improve the shipping business, the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention was amended to compensate seamen stranded at foreign ports or who suffer injury and death on the job. Ship owners and representatives of seafarers’ unions and governments passed the amendments without opposition. Providing additional health and abandonment protection to seafarers will cut down on workers’ strikes and boost the shipping industry’s fortunes, said ILO directorgeneral Guy Ryder. “These steps will certainly help improve working and living conditions for seafarers who play a central role in keeping the real economy going, with some 90% of world trade carried on ships.”