Shipping: Employment

Joint Maritime Commission: Wages of Seafarers

Among the Joint Maritime Commission's (JMC) specific attributes is the updating of the minimum basic wage figure for able seamen in accordance with the Seafarers' Wages, Hours of Work and Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187). This is the only statutory international wage fixing mechanism. The Joint Maritime Commission's Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers has been established to regularly update this wage figure.

Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers, 2009

The next meeting of the JMC’s Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers will be held in Geneva on 12-13 February 2009. The agenda will consist of a single item: The Seafarers' Wages, Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187): The updating of the basic wage of able seafarers.

The documentation submitted to the meeting is confidential and the report will be submitted directly to the Governing Body of the ILO.

Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers, 2006

The JMC’s Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers met in Geneva on 24 February 2006.

The Subcommittee adopted a resolution which updates the ILO minimum basic wage for able seafarers from its present value of US$500 to US$515 on 1 January 2007, US$530 on 1 January 2008 and US$545 on 31 December 2008.

The Governing Body at its 294th (March 2006) Session endorsed these increases in the wage figure which should be applied in accordance with the Seafarers’ Wages, Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187) as well as the Guideline B2.2.4 of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

The following documents are available for consultation:

• SJMC/2006/1: Seafarers Wages and Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187): Updating of the minimum basic wage of able seamen - (pdf, 255 KB)
• SJMC/2006/1(Rev): Seafarers Wages and Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187): Updating of the minimum basic wage of able seamen - (pdf, 86 KB)
• SJMC/2006/3: Final report (including the Resolution concerning the ILO minimum basic wage for the able seafarer which contains the wage figures) - (pdf, 48 KB)

Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers, 2003

The JMC’s Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers met in Geneva from 5-8 July 2003. The Subcommittee discussed the updating of the minimum basic wage of able seamen in accordance with the Seafarers' Wages, Hours of Work and Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187). The Joint Working Group met to provide guidance on an interpretation of the minimum wage of able seamen (as per Recommendation No. 187) so as to provide updating and interpretation of recommended total minimum salary.

The following documents from that meeting are available for consultation:

• SJMC/2003/1: Updating and interpretation of the recommended ILO minimum basic wage of able seamen - (pdf, 149 KB)
• SJMC/2003/6: Final report - (pdf, 66 KB)

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