Special Tripartite Committee

The Committee role

The Special Tripartite Committee is established under Article XIII of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006:

1. The Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall keep the working of this Convention under continuous review through a committee established by it with special competence in the area of maritime labour standards.

2. For matters dealt with in accordance with this Convention, the Committee shall consist of two representatives nominated by the Government of each Member which has ratified this Convention, and the representatives of Shipowners and Seafarers appointed by the Governing Body after consultation with the Joint Maritime Commission.

3. The Government representatives of Members which have not yet ratified this Convention may participate in the Committee but shall have no right to vote on any matter dealt with in accordance with this Convention. The Governing Body may invite other organizations or entities to be represented on the Committee by observers.

4. The votes of each Shipowner and Seafarer representative in the Committee shall be weighted so as to ensure that the Shipowners’ group and the Seafarers’ group each have half the voting power of the total number of governments which are represented at the meeting concerned and entitled to vote.

Meetings of the Special Tripartite Committee

  1. Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee

    The fifth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee will take place in Geneva from 7 to 11 April 2025.

  2. Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee - Part II

    The fourth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee took place in two parts. Part I was held in a virtual format from 19 to 23 April 2021. Part II took place from 5 to 13 May 2022 in a hybrid format.

  3. Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee - Part I 

    The fourth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee took place in two parts. Part I was held in a virtual format from 19 to 23 April 2021. Part II took place from 5 to 13 May 2022 in a hybrid format.

  4. Third Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee

    The third meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established by the Governing Body in accordance with Article XIII of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) took place at the ILO in Geneva from 23 to 27 April 2018.

  5. Second meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee

    The second meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established by the Governing Body in accordance with Article XIII of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) took place at the ILO in Geneva from 8 to 10 February 2016.

  6. First meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee

    The first meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established by the Governing Body in accordance with Article XIII of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) took place at the ILO in Geneva from 7 to 11 April, 2014.

Preparatory Tripartite MLC, 2006 Committee

  1. Second Meeting of the Preparatory Tripartite MLC, 2006, Committee

    12 - 14 December 2011

    The mandate of the Preparatory Committee is to “keep under review the preparations by Members for implementing the MLC, 2006, identify any common issues and prepare the work for the future Special Tripartite Committee on any questions that might need to be dealt with as a matter of urgency after entry into force of the Convention, including the rules of procedure of the Committee”.

  2. Preparatory Tripartite MLC, 2006, Committee

    20 - 22 September 2010

    The Governing Body of the ILO, at its 306th Session, noting that the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) is expected to come into force during 2011, decided to establish a Preparatory Tripartite MLC, 2006, Committee (“the Preparatory Committee”), modelled on the future “Special Tripartite Committee” to be established under Article XIII of the MLC, 2006, when it comes into force. Since the MLC, 2006, is not yet in force, the Preparatory Committee comprises representatives of the governments of any interested member States and ten representatives nominated respectively by the International Shipping Federation (ISF) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).