Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

The Committee notes the information provided in the report. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Termination of the agreement. For over 30 years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to take steps to amend section 209(III) of the Federal Labour Act, under the terms of which it is unlawful to terminate the employment relationship when the vessel is in foreign waters. In contrast, the Convention provides that an agreement for an indefinite period may be terminated by either party in any port where the vessel loads or unloads, provided that the notice specified in the agreement shall have been given, which shall not be less than 24 hours.

In 2003, the Government referred to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Convention which, in its view, allowed it to maintain in force the provisions of section 209(III) of the Federal Labour Act. In 2005, the report did not contain any information on this subject. The Committee notes, however, that the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) has submitted an initiative for the amendment of this section. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the action taken as a result of this initiative and requests it once again to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the agreement can be terminated at any time by either party provided that the notice specified shall have been given.

Article 14, paragraph 1, and Article 5. Discharge of the seafarer. Under the terms of the Convention, every seafarer shall be given a document containing a record of his employment on board the vessel and also indicating that he has been discharged, whatever the reason for the termination or rescission of the agreement. As the Committee noted that the maritime book, issued in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, does not provide any space for such entries, it requested the Government in its previous comment to take the necessary measures to give effect to these provisions. As the report contains no information in this respect, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the discharge of the seafarer is recorded in the maritime book and that no statement as to the quality of the seafarer’s work or as to his wages may be contained in this document.

Article 14, paragraph 2. Certificate as to the quality of the seafarer’s work. Under the terms of the Convention, the seafarer has the right to obtain from the master a separate certificate as to the quality of his work or, failing that, indicating whether he has fully discharged his obligations under the agreement. Section 132(VIII) of the Federal Labour Act provides that employers are under the obligation to issue to workers who so request or who leave their employment, within three days, written testimony as to the work performed. The Committee requests the Government to indicate: (i) the specific information to be contained in this document; and (ii) whether this section is applicable to seafarers.

Article 15. Application of the Convention. The CTM indicates in its comments that, although there are legal texts respecting labour inspection, no inspections are carried out on the application of the provisions of the Convention due to the lack of resources available to the inspection services.

The trade union organization also indicates that there is no periodic inspection of vessels. It adds that, at the present time, only two inspectors of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) take responsibility at the national level for foreign vessels flying flags of convenience and for receiving complaints from seafarers. Unfortunately, these inspectors do not benefit from any support from the authorities in their work. The Government indicates that, in order to reply to these observations, it needs to obtain more information from the CTM. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on this matter in its next report.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2007.]