Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1996, publiée 85ème session CIT (1997)

With reference to its previous comments concerning the need for the Government to amend its legislation to ensure that non-resident workers employed aboard Danish ships are free to be represented in collective bargaining by organizations of their own choosing, the Committee notes the Government's indication in its latest report that the structural changes in the shipping industry, resulting in the establishment of second registers, call for a discussion at the international level. Then, discussions within the ILO with the social partners could be based upon a study made on the effects of second registers on non-domiciled seafarers' working and living conditions.

The Committee once again recalls that section 10 of Act No. 408 of 1988 which established the Danish International Ships' Register (DIS) prevents workers employed on board Danish ships but who are not residents of Denmark from being represented in collective bargaining by organizations of their own choosing, in contravention of Articles 2, 3 and 10 of the Convention. It once again expresses the hope that steps will be taken in the near future to ensure these non-resident workers the right to be represented by organizations of their own choosing and requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made in this regard.