Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) - Hungary (Ratification: 2013)

Other comments on C186

Direct Request

2019
2018
2016

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The Committee notes that this is the Government’s first report on the application of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), and that the Government previously ratified seven maritime labour Conventions and a Protocol, all of which were denounced following the entry into force of the Convention for Hungary. Following a first review of the information and documents available, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following issues. If considered necessary, the Committee may come back to other matters at a later stage.

General questions on application. Implementing measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that special regulations are currently being drafted to give effect to several provisions of the Convention. It further notes the Government’s statement that there are 500 Hungarian seafarers working on ships operating under the flag of other countries and that, since 2004, there are no ships flying the Hungarian flag, nor active maritime companies with Hungarian participation or Hungarian shipowners. The Committee requests the Government to report on any future developments in the maritime sector, which would have a bearing on the application of the flag State requirements of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of all relevant new legislation or other regulatory instruments implementing the Convention once they are adopted.

Consultations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are no active seafarers’ organizations in Hungary and that consultations on issues related to the implementation of the Convention take place with a number of shipowners’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee recalls that under Article VII of the Convention, any derogation, exemption or other flexible application for which the Convention requires consultations may, where representative organizations of shipowners or of seafarers do not exist within a Member, only be decided through consultation with the Special Tripartite Committee established in accordance with Article XIII of the Convention. Until a seafarers’ organization is established in the country, the Committee invites the Government to have recourse to the arrangement provided for in Article VII of the Convention.

Regulation 1.1, Standard A1.1, paragraphs 2 and 3. Minimum age. Night work. The Committee notes that the interval considered as night under section 89 of the Labour Code lasts eight hours (between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.) and thus is not in conformity with Standard A1.1, paragraph 2, of the Convention that provides for a period covering at least nine hours. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

Standard A1.1, paragraph 4. Hazardous work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are no specific regulations regarding the types of work likely to jeopardize the health or safety of seafarers under the age of 18 and that the general legislation is applicable in this regard. The Committee notes that section 51(3) of the Labour Code states that workers shall be employed for work of such nature which is not considered harmful with a view to their physical condition or development. The Committee also notes that Appendix 8 of Decree No. 33/1998 of the Minister of Social Welfare, as amended by Decree No. 27/2000 of the Minister of Health concerning the employment of minors, provides for a list of forbidden and restricted categories of hazardous work for young persons under 18 years of age. Noting that these provisions are of a general nature and do not take into account the specificities of the maritime sector, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how the types of work likely to jeopardize the health or safety of seafarers under the age of 18 will be determined following consultations, as required under Standard A1.1, paragraph 4, of the Convention.

Regulation 1.4 and the Code. Recruitment and placement. Regulation 5.3 and the Code. Labour-supplying responsibilities. Article V, paragraph 5. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Decree No. 383/2014 and Decree No. 118/2001 regulate the registration and functioning of seafarer recruitment and placement agencies in the country. The Committee observes that none of the provisions of these Decrees prohibit seafarer recruitment and placement services from using means, mechanisms, or lists intended to prevent or deter seafarers from gaining employment for which they are qualified, as required by Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(a), of the Convention. The Committee further notes that these Decrees do not contain provisions ensuring that private seafarers’ recruitment and placement services operating in Hungary establish a system of protection, by way of insurance or an equivalent appropriate measure, to compensate seafarers for monetary loss that they may incur as a result of the failure of a recruitment and placement service or of the relevant shipowner under the seafarers’ employment agreement to meet its obligations to them, as required by Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(c)(vi), of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on how it gives effect to the requirements of Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(a) and (c)(vi), of the Convention.

Regulation 2.1 and the Code. Seafarers’ employment agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, since it does not have a lex specialis regulating seafarers, the provisions of the Convention are implemented through the Labour Code. The Committee notes that certain provisions of the Labour Code are not in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation. However, before raising them, the Committee wishes to seek clarification on the scope of application of the Labour Code. The Committee notes in this regard that section 3.1 of the Labour Code states that unless otherwise provided, the Code shall apply to persons who normally work in Hungary. The Committee requests the Government to provide clarifications concerning whether or not the Labour Code applies to national and foreign seafarers domiciled in Hungary engaged in ships not flying the Hungarian flag.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in the context of seafarer recruitment and placement services, pursuant to section 3(2)(b)(2) of Government Decree No. 383/2014, prior to the conclusion of the contract, seafarers shall receive adequate and detailed information in writing on their rights and obligations arising from their occupational status and a copy of their contract. In this respect, the Committee notes that the Government has provided no information on the measures taken to ensure that seafarers signing a seafarers’ employment agreement are given an opportunity to seek advice on the agreement before signing (Standard A2.1, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on how it gives effect to this provision of the Convention as well as a sample of a seafarer’s employment agreement in English and an example of the approved document for the seafarers’ record of employment.

Regulation 4.5 and the Code. Social security. Regulation 5.3 and the Code. Labour-supplying responsibilities. The Committee notes that, upon ratification of the Convention, Hungary declared that the branches for which it provides social security protection to seafarers in accordance with Standard A4.5, paragraphs 1, 2 and 10, are sickness benefit, old-age benefit and employment injury benefit. While noting that the Government has provided no information on the provisions of the national legislation regulating these branches, the Committee notes that the social security system in the country is mainly regulated by the following Laws: Act LXXX of 1997 on persons entitled to social security benefits and private pensions, as well as the coverage of these services; Act LXXXI of 1997 on social insurance pension; Act LXXXIII of 1997 on compulsory health care insurance; Act LXXXIV of 1998 on family support; Act IV of 1991 on promoting employment and providing for the unemployed; Act CXXXII of 2006 on developing the health-care system; and Act CXCI of 2011 on benefits for persons with changed working capacity, and amendments of certain acts. The Committee requests the Government to provide clarifications regarding whether, and to what extent, the social security legislation is applicable to all seafarers, national and foreign, residing in the Hungarian territory as required by Standard A4.5 of the Convention and to indicate the relevant provisions, in particular in relation to sickness benefit, old age benefit and employment injury benefit.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2018.]