Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1987, published 74th ILC session (1987)

Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government maintains its position in its report that section 209 (III) of the Federal Labour Act should be read in the sense that termination of an employment agreement for an indefinite period is only prohibited abroad when the vessel is in an uninhabited place or in port, and in this latter case, only when this would expose the vessel to some risk. However, in view of the ambiguous nature of the present text of section 209 (III) which has given rise to various interpretations, and recalling that the Government had considered in earlier reports the possibility of amending it, the Committee hopes that this possibility will be borne in mind in any future revision of the above Act. In any event, for the purpose of avoiding any doubts on the part of those concerned about the scope of the above section, the point in question should be clarified for the seafarers and authorities concerned through appropriate circulars or directives.