|
|
|
|||||||||||||
 |
Speaking to about 100 participants from 25 countries, Mr Chen Tze Penn, Director-General of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), said that the MPA has ensured that Singapore operates a quality merchant fleet which meets major international maritime safety and labour standards set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He added that the MPA also administers a host of welfare schemes for seafarers at the opening ceremony of the ILO’s Regional Maritime Conference in the Asia-Pacific Region and Maritime Inspection Seminar this morning. Organised by the MPA and ILO, the 4˝ -day Conference and Seminar are held at the Grand Plaza Hotel. The theme of this Conference is "Towards a Sustainable Shipping Industry: Decent Work, an Asian Perspective". The Conference is organised as part of the activities of the ILO’s Decent Work in the Maritime Industry Programme which seeks to promote freedom, equality, security and human dignity for men and women at work. This Programme was launched in January 2001. Based on the theme, about nine overseas and local speakers would be speaking on a wide range of topics including the Decent Work Programme and ways to improve security of seafarers’ identification. As a special feature, the MPA would also be organising a ˝-day seminar on "Seafarers’ Rights and Welfare Onboard Singapore-registered Ships" on 26 July 2002 at the same venue. Topics covered would include responsibilities of the MPA and employers for crew matters and the nature of seafaring as a career. Officiating this morning’s Conference were Mr Chen and Mr Yasuyuki Nodera, Regional Director of the ILO Asia-Pacific Region. This is the first time that such a Conference is being held in Asia-Pacific. Attached: Opening address by Mr Chen Tze Penn, Director-General, MPA For more information, please contact: Ms
Theresa Pong ----------------------------------------- Background on ILO The International Labour Organisation is the United Nations (UN) specialised agency that seeks to promote social justice and internationally-recognised human and labour rights. It was founded in 1919 and is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the League of Nations into being and which became the first specialised agency of the UN in 1946. The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations, setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom of association, the right to organise, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues. It promotes the development of independent employers' and workers' organisations and provides training and advisory services to those organisations. Within the UN system, the ILO has a unique tripartite structure with workers and employers participating as equal partners with governments in the work of its governing organs.
|
|||
Public Information
