Decision concerning the report of the fifth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the MLC, 2006 (Geneva, 7–11 April 2025)

The Governing Body welcomed the work conducted by the Special Tripartite Committee (STC) established under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006), and:

(a) took note of the report of the Chairperson of the STC on the fifth meeting of the STC (7-11 April 2025) and of the resolutions adopted at that meeting;

(b) endorsed the request of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Legal Committee to convene a meeting of the Joint ILO/IMO Tripartite Working Group to identify and address seafarers' issues and the human element (JTWG) to consider the final report of the Task Force to review and update (or redevelop) the ILO/IMO Joint Database on Abandonment of Seafarers and requested the Director-General to liaise with the IMO Secretary-General to that effect;

(c) endorsed the STC's request to convene a meeting of the JTWG on hours of work and hours of rest, with the terms of reference contained in the resolution mentioned in paragraph 24 of document GB.355/LILS/2, and requested the Director-General to liaise with the IMO Secretary-General to submit the request to the IMO Maritime Safety Committee;

(d) approved the amendment to paragraph 19 of the Terms of Reference of the JTWG;

(e) decided that the relevant cost of the three-day meetings of the JTWG, if held in 2026 and 2027, be financed in the first instance from savings in Part I of the budget or, failing that, through Part II, on the understanding that, should this subsequently prove impossible, the Director-General would propose alternative financing methods at a later stage in the 2026-27 biennium;

(f) requested the Director-General to forward to the IMO the resolution recommending that the IMO Facilitation Committee consider the amendment to the MLC, 2006, on shore leave adopted during the Fifth Meeting of the STC, and take action as appropriate;

(g) adopted the amendments related to the addition of a new Article 3 bis; Article 4, paragraph 4; Article 6, paragraphs 2 and 4, in the Standing Orders of the STC as proposed in the appendix to document GB.355/LILS/2, and referred the amendments proposed to paragraph 10 of the Introductory Note to the STC for further consideration;

(h) reappointed Mr Martin Marini (Singapore) as Chairperson of the STC for the three year period 2025-28;

(i) decided to convene the sixth meeting of the STC from 3 to 7 April 2028 and requested the Director-General to include a provision for that purpose in the Programme and Budget proposals for 2028-29.

(GB.355/LILS/2, paragraph 35, as amended by the Governing Body)