Key worker status will protect seafarers in the next pandemic

SEAFARERS will be designated key workers in the Maritime Labour Convention, after an amendment was agreed by the special tripartite committee at the International Labour Organisation headquarters in Geneva.

The amended guideline will now recommend that “each member should designate and recognise seafarers as key workers and take appropriate measures to facilitate their safe movement when travelling in connection with their employment or work, including, but not limited to, access to shore leave, repatriation, crew changes and medical care ashore”.

That status is, of course, well deserved. While so many were confined to their homes and worked from a dining room table, seafarers continued to supply the world with the 90% of goods that arrive by sea.

Plenty of equally crucial sectors were granted the status when Covid-19 took hold, but seafarers were forgotten. Mark Dickinson, Nautilus general secretary and seafarers’ group spokesperson during the STC meeting, said this was another example of “sea blindness”.

He said government departments often do not grasp just how crucial shipping is to keeping the world supplied.

“Everybody needs us, but they don’t seem to understand that they need us,” he told Lloyd’s List.

International Chamber of Shipping director of employment affairs Helio Vicente said shipping still had “a long way to go” when it comes to marketing its importance effectively.

“People are much more interested in shipping when the Ever Given (IMO: 9811000) all of a sudden stops their goods from being delivered,” he said.

Vicente highlighted the difficulty many mariners had in actually getting off ships during the pandemic.

As Lloyd’s List reported then, some 300,000 seafarers were left stranded on vessels long after their contracts expired, unable to disembark in ports.

Francesco Gargiulo, chief executive of the International Maritime Employers’ Council, which observes STC meetings, described the “ridiculous situation where ships were allowed but seafarers were not” during the pandemic.

“They were happy to welcome the merchandise that they brought, but they wouldn’t let these people go home, in some cases when they were sick,” he said.

Though the retrospective recognition of seafarers is deserved, it is just that: retrospective.

But Gargiulo explained that the new guideline meant the industry would not have to lobby as hard during the next crisis for the basic rights seafarers should have been afforded five years ago.

Dickinson said both the seafarer and shipowner groups (which are two thirds of the tripartite, with governments the last piece) went to the STC meeting with a detailed proposal that would make keyworker status a standard in the MLC.

That standard would then be mandatory for parties to the convention to follow, rather than a guideline, which is more of a recommendation.

“We were getting the feeling that this maybe wasn’t going to go through because it was too detailed,” Dickinson revealed.

“There was too much for the governments in terms of how they would imagine turning it into legislation in due course.” Countries must enact their own legislation that fulfils standards in the MLC once those standards are agreed.

“So we quickly realised we needed something more punchy,” he said, explaining that the two groups then drafted a shorter text.

Governments thought this status was “about Covid”, Dickinson said, which while true

in part, did not tell the whole story.

“But it was about saying, from now on in, we will never treat seafarers like that again, ever. Period. Not just the next time there’s a crisis, but from now on, forever, they are key workers,” he said.

The amendment tabled by the two groups, which “won the day”, he said, was a commitment that governments should facilitate their repatriation and their access to medical care.

While a step down from the mandatory “standards” in the MLC, Gargiulo explained that a guideline was still a lot stronger than a simple suggestion. Parties to the convention can choose to follow a different process if they wish, but they must demonstrate that their legislation still meets the corresponding standards. Essentially, the guideline makes signatories of the MLC accountable to the ILO.

Alongside the key worker guideline, a standard covering shore leave was added to the convention, which means members must ensure seafarers have access to shore leave, crucially without needing a visa.

Gargiulo said the amendment “spelled out” governments’ obligations in terms of providing shore leave. Because it wasn’t “spelled out” in the MLC before, it was easier to prevent seafarers from going ashore during the pandemic.

“There’s still the usual caveats in the language, but now it says very clearly, this is what

you should do, and if you don’t, you need to explain why,” he told Lloyd’s List.

Vicente said the shipowner and seafarer groups wanted a “full throated” agreement that would allow for repatriation without a visa, but that “proved a step too far for governments”, he said.

But Gargiulo revealed that “governments made it absolutely clear they will not allow seafarers to be repatriated, no matter what the circumstances, without a visa. They wouldn’t even consider it. It was just a non-starter for them, and that took a long time to get past that”.

Those not used to the way shipping negotiates labour conditions (including pay) might be taken aback by the thought of employer and employee working together to negotiate with governments, rather than governments refereeing a bout between them.

Dickinson said the ILO, which facilitated the conversations, and other supporting organisations were “always utterly blown away” by the partnership between seafarer trade unions and employers.

“They all look to us and say: ‘you want to see what they do in maritime, they make amazing progress’.”

“We really are the gold standard of social dialogue and tripartism”.

Dickinson explained how he and his theoretical opposite number, ICS policy director Tim Springett, who is the shipowner spokesperson, had built a close relationship.

“Everybody knows each other. There’s no bullshit,” Dickinson said. While there was room for hyperbole to make a point, he said that all parties understand that when somebody is talking, “they’re talking with passion, experience, deep knowledge and understanding”.

“Everyone’s got empathy for the seafarer, and that really helps,” he said.

#Sustainability #Crewing #ShipOperations #EverGiven #InternationalLabourOrganization #InternationalChamberOfShipping #InternationalMaritimeEmployersCouncil #Seafarers #MarkDickinson #Nautilus

Lloyd's List Daily Briefing 18 April 2025