Indonesia ratifies the ILO Convention on Maritime Labour

Indonesia has ratified the 2006 ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006), which is aimed to strengthen the protection of Indonesian sailors and ship crewmen, through an unanimous approval by the Indonesian House of Representatives during a plenary meeting held on Thursday, 8 September 2016.

For Indonesia, the MLC has a significant influence since Indonesia is the second largest country for the supply of the seafarers. Therefore, it is important for the country to have effective and coordinated system of regular inspections, monitoring and other control measures of ships adopted by the competent authorities.

It is expected the ratification can strengthen the legal basis for the government in drafting a national policy to step up the protection, respect and fulfillment of the rights of Indonesian sailors along with human rights principles."

Dede Yusuf, Chair of the Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Parliament

The approval followed up a series of hearings between House Commission IX overseeing labour affairs and several ministries, which included maritime labour experts. In the meetings, all of the stakeholders discussed key points of the convention before they agreed to pass it into law.

“It is expected the ratification can strengthen the legal basis for the government in drafting a national policy to step up the protection, respect and fulfillment of the rights of Indonesian sailors along with human rights principles,” said Dede Yusuf, Chair of the Commission IX, quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

The Minister of Manpower, Hanif Dhakiri, as reported by the Jakarta Post, praised the ratification of the convention, saying it truly demonstrated Indonesia's commitment to promoting welfare and a better work environment for all sailors and crew members. He added that the ratification also showed the country’s commitment to the implementation of better protection for national vessels when sailing in international waters.

The government must now enshrine the norms and standards stipulated in the convention as national laws, including provisions to optimize the protection of Indonesian sailors. The ratification was in line with the government's vision to establish Indonesia as a maritime axis."

Hanif Dhakiri, Indonesian Minister of Manpower

“The government must now enshrine the norms and standards stipulated in the convention as national laws, including provisions to optimize the protection of Indonesian sailors. The ratification was in line with the government's vision to establish Indonesia as a maritime axis,” he said.

When the MLC was adopted by the 94th (Maritime) Session of the ILO’s International Labour Conference (ILC) in February 2006, it was described as a “historic event”. The MLC is seen by seafarers as a “charter of rights” that will help ensure “decent work’ for seafarers, no matter where the ships sail and no matter which flag they fly.

A Key feature of the MLC is that it builds on the strengths of the ILO approach to making sure that, in each country, international labour standards are effectively implemented at the “ground level” and enforced. At the same time the MLC meets challenges of this globalized industry by taking over many elements that are found in other major maritime Conventions in ensuring safer and secure shipping and preventing marine pollution.

With the ratification of the MLC, to date Indonesia has ratified a total of 20 ILO Conventions, including the eight ILO’s core Conventions.