In May 2012, the Polish government has ratified the International Convention on Maritime Labour 2006 (MLC 2006). Poland is the 26th member country of the International Labour Organization (ILO) which has ratified this document.

MLC 2006 sets minimum requirements for working and living conditions on ships for more than 1.2 million seafarers worldwide. One of the results of implementation of the Convention is to eliminate from the market entities that operate ships not fulfilling basic standards of living.

Mr. Remigiusz A. Henczel, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN, stressed that Poland, being a major source of seafaring labor force in Europe, pays great attention to working conditions at sea and hopes that Convention will enter into force without further delays.

Ratification of Convention by Poland brings closer the fulfillment of the second criterion deciding on the MLC 2006 entry into force (i.e., a document must be ratified by 30 ILO member countries). The remaining four ratifications are likely to be registered by the end of 2012, which will allow for the entry into force of the Convention in 2013 (the first criterion - that countries that have ratified the Convention represented a minimum of 33% of world tonnage - has already been met).

Mr. Tomasz Grabowski, vice president of Inter Marine Ltd. said, "because the Convention MLC 2006 is not yet in force, the implementing provisions, which could determine the power to issue “certificates of compliance” with MLC 2006 for the various institutions and companies, were not produced.  However, due to the fact that its content is known for a long time, leading crewing agencies managed to adapt their procedures to the Convention requirements. There are not such deep changes required, because reliable crewing agencies delivering their services in the international labor market, constantly adapt its actions to the requirements of this market, which quickly sets the new standards introduced by conventions such as SOLAS, STCW, MARPOL and recommendations of the ITF, which to a large degree, are overlapping the requirements of the newly ratified document. "

Inter Marine has been active in the employment industry for more than 20 years and the company is enlisted in the employment agencies’ registry under number 929. High quality services is reflected by ISO 9001:2008 certificate, issued by Lloyd’s Register, “Golden Shackle” award for best crewing and European Medal.

Employment conditions are based on Collective Bargaining Agreements (approved by ITF or labor unions) or owners’ agreements, offering market competitive terms. If there is no such agreement, it must be confirmed that all ITF standards regarding crew have been fulfilled (overtime payments, insurance for sickness and disability, social conditions on board the vessel, etc.).


Source: Inter Marine Sp. z o.o.
www.intermarinegroup.pl