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The Committee notes the information communicated by the Government. It would like to draw the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 3, paragraph 4, of the Convention. Repatriation of foreign seamen. For a number of years, the Government has indicated that no legislative amendments have been made and refers, in respect of the application of the Convention, to information provided in its previous reports. It would therefore appear that current legislation does not contain any provisions governing the repatriation of foreign seamen. Section 24 of Decree No. 426/994 of 24 September 1994 provides, however, that at least 75 per cent of crew members and officers employed on board national merchant vessels, including the captain, the chief engineer and the radio operator, shall be of Uruguayan nationality. This percentage may be reduced to 50 per cent by virtue of section 26 of this text, provided that the vessel involved is one formerly flying the flag of a MERCOSUR country and the foreign crew members on board this vessel are from such country. The Committee recalls that, according to the Convention, the conditions under which a foreign seaman engaged in his own country or in a country other than his own has the right to be repatriated shall be as provided by national law or, in the absence of such legal provisions, in the articles of agreement. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide full information on the organization of the repatriation of foreign crew members employed on board ships flying the Uruguayan flag.

Part V of the report form. Statistical information. With its report, the Government communicated general statistical data concerning protected workers and the number of undertakings inspected in 2004 and the first six months of 2005. The Committee requests the Government to communicate, in its next report, statistics referring specifically to seamen, which indicate, for instance, the number of seamen repatriated in the year covered by the report, the number and nature of violations reported and subsequent action taken, etc.