Joint Maritime Commission

The Joint Maritime Commission (JMC) is a bipartite standing body that provides advice to the Governing Body on maritime questions including standard setting for the shipping industry. It is composed as follows: Chairman of the Governing Body; two Governing Body members (one Worker, one Employer); twenty regular shipowner members; twenty regular seafarer members; four deputy shipowner members; and four deputy seafarer members. The Standing Orders of the JMC provide guidance on how to deal with the various procedural questions that may arise in the course of the Commission's work.

Meetings of the JMC

• 28th Session (22 October 1996)
• 29th Session (22-26 January 2001)
• 30th Session (23 February 2006): The single item agenda of the 30th session is follow up to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

Wages of seafarers

Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers, 2006

The Joint Maritime Commission’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, 255k)
• 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, 86k)
• SJMC/2006/3: Final report (including the Resolution concerning the ILO minimum basic wage for the able seafarer which contains the wage figures) (pdf, 48k)

Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers, 2003

The Joint Maritime Commission’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, 149k.
• SJMC/2003/6: Final report, pdf, 66k.

The next meeting of the Subcommittee will be held on 24-25 February 2006 with a single agenda item: Seafarers' Wages and Sours of Work and the Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187); updating the minimum basic wage of able seamen.