Nigeria Approves Domestication Of Maritime Labour Convention

The Nigerian government has approved the domestication of the 2006 Maritime Labor Convention (MLC).

The approval was part of the decision reached on Wednesday at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by the vice president, Namadi Sambo in the absence of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was away on official assignment.

The Maritime Labour Convention is expected to come into force by August 1, 2013. It is an ancillary of the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention established as the fourth pillar of the International Maritime Labour law.

The convention incorporates various extant International Maritime labour conventions and recommendation as well as the fundamental principle to be found in the International Labour conventions.

The code of the convention contains five titles: minimum requirements for seafarers to work on ship conditions of employment, accommodations, recreational facilities, food and catering, health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection, as well as compliance and enforcement.

It was learnt that 39 states representing 68 percent of global shipping in Geneva, Switzerland, have already ratified the convention about half a decade ago.