Mark Dickinson on Updates to the Maritime Labour Convention
Podcast, 08 June 2022
By Francesca Fairbairn , Oceans, Commodities, and Academy Programme Manager, IHRB
The ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is an international treaty to protect the seafarers’ rights that came into force in 2006. It has now been ratified by more than 100 countries, representing over 90% of the world's fleet. One of its provisions is a the Special Tripartite Committee (STC) comprising government, ship-owners and seafarers' representatives, meet periodically to keep the convention constantly reviewed and updated. The latest meeting of the STC was held in Geneva in May 2022, with an agreement on a number of changes, including a commitment to better social cohesion for seafarers.
In this podcast, Mark Dickinson, General Secretary of seafarers union Nautilus International, talks to IHRB's Francesca Fairbairn about these changes, and proposed improvements that were not approved by all parties. Mark, who began his maritime career at age 16 and has been advocating for seafarers for several decades, was instrumental in the original drafting of the MLC, and leads the seafarers' representatives delegation at the STC in pushing for improvements to the convention.
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