The ILO calls for full respect of seafarers’ rights and for the vaccination of seafarers
The ILO is calling on governments to treat seafarers as key workers and to cooperate to make vaccines available to them at the earliest opportunity, to allow them to pass through international borders and keep global supply chains moving.
These appeals are reflected in two resolutions adopted during the Special Tripartite Committee (STC) of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), which brought together more than 100 governments, seafarers and shipowners, who met virtually from 19 to 23 April 2021 to review the impact of COVID-19 on the maritime sector.
The Resolution concerning the implementation and practical application of the MLC, 2006 during the COVID-19 pandemic renews calls for States to designate and treat seafarers as key workers and take all necessary steps to ensure that they can travel to and from their country or place of residence and their place of work, and obtain medical care ashore as well as shore leave.