Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Accommodation of Crews (Fishermen) Convention, 1966 (No. 126) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the Government’s report which replies only partially to its previous comments.

Article 3, paragraph 2(e), of the Convention. Periodic consultations. In the absence of a clear answer on this point, the Committee is bound to reiterate its request concerning the holding of periodic consultations with fishing vessel owners’ and fishers’ organizations with respect to the framing of regulations and the practical arrangements for such consultations (frequency, institutional framework, participation, etc.).

Article 5, paragraph 1(c). Complaint-based inspection. The Committee has been asking for explanations as to whether and how it is ensured in law and practice that fishing vessels are inspected on every occasion that a complaint is filed with the competent authority by a recognized fishers’ organization representing all or part of the crew or by a prescribed number of the crew of the vessel. The Government again generally refers to Act No. 653-XIV on the Appeals of the Citizens without specifying any particular provision expressly regulating this matter, whereas in an earlier report concerning the application of Convention No. 92 reference was made to the Regulations on State Inspection of Ukraine regarding safe navigation, approved by Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 2098 of 30 December 1998. The Committee once more requests the Government to provide additional explanations in this respect.

Articles 6 to 16. Crew accommodation requirements. The Committee recalls its previous direct request in which it asked the Government to specify the legal provisions implementing several detailed requirements of Part III of the Convention. In reply, the Government has confined itself to indicating that the various crew accommodation standards set forth in the Convention are given effect by the Rules on the classification and building of seagoing vessels of the Russian Register of Maritime Shipping of 2005, the Sanitary Rules for seagoing vessels of the industrial fleet of the USSR of 1977, and the Regulations on State sanitary inspection in the course of designing, building, converting, repairing and commissioning vessels, approved by Order No. 17 of 9 February 1999. In addition, in reply to a similar request made under Convention No. 92, the Government referred to the State Sanitary Rules for seagoing vessels of Ukraine (DSP 7.7.4–057–2000) as being the instrument that ensures observance of the requirements of the Convention. Apart from these general statements, however, the Government’s reports do not contain any itemized answers to the long lists of points raised by the Committee.

In order to enable the Committee to undertake a proper evaluation of the conformity of the Ukrainian legislation with the concrete technical requirements of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to specify the legal texts regulating crew accommodation on board fishing vessels and to indicate the exact provisions giving effect to the following Articles of the Convention:

–      Article 6, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 (emergency escapes, insulation of sleeping rooms, fire prevention, wall surfaces and floorings);

–      Article 8, paragraphs 2 and 3 (heating system);

–      Article 9, paragraph 5 (permanent night lighting);

–      Article 10, paragraphs 1, 5, 9 and 13 to 26 (location of sleeping rooms, berth dimensions, furniture of sleeping rooms);

–      Article 11, paragraphs 7 and 8 (recreational facilities for mess rooms);

–      Article 12, paragraphs 2(c), 7 and 11 (sanitary facilities, soil and waste pipes, facilities for drying clothes); and

–      Article 13, paragraph 1 (sick bay and medicine chest).

Moreover, the Committee would appreciate receiving copies of the following legislative texts to which the Government refers in its reports and which are not available to the Office: (i) Rules for the classification and building of seagoing vessels of the Russian Register of Maritime Shipping of 2005; (ii) Rules on accident prevention on board fishing vessels of Ukraine; (iii) Rules on fire safety on board fishing vessels of Ukraine, approved by Order No. 24 of 14 March 2000; (iv) State sanitary rules and standards for enterprises and vessels processing fish and other living aquatic resources, approved by Order No. 197 of 6 May 2003; and (v) Regulations on service on board vessels of the fishing fleet of Ukraine.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide general information in its next report on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance statistics on the capacity of the fishing fleet and the workforce in the fishing sector, copies of official documents such as guidelines or manuals for inspecting fishing vessels, extracts from reports of the inspection services showing the number and nature of accommodation-related infringements observed and sanctions imposed, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to the new Convention on work in the fishing sector, which was adopted at the 96th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2007 and which aims to revise and bring up to date in an integrated manner most existing ILO fishing instruments. The new Convention provides a modern and flexible regulatory framework covering large fishing operations, but also addresses the concerns of small-scale fishers. The Committee requests the Government to give all due consideration to the new global standard on fishers’ working and living conditions and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken with a view to its ratification.