Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Accommodation of Crews (Fishermen) Convention, 1966 (No. 126) - Panama (Ratification: 1971)

Part III of the report form. Inspection. The Committee notes the copies of the crew accommodation inspection reports (RACAD) attached to the Government’s report. It notes that these forms contain detailed lists of the points to be verified by inspectors in relation to the accommodation of crews and that they refer explicitly to the Convention. However, it notes that certain of the matters covered by the Convention are not included in the forms: the provision of emergency escapes (Article 6(2)); the presence of a permanent blue light in sleeping rooms in the night (Article 9(5)); as far as practicable, the berthing of crew members so that watches are separated and no day-men share a room with watchkeepers (Article 10(26)). The Committee hopes that the Government will envisage revising the inspection form so as to include these points.

The Committee also notes that the table on which the data on the dimensions of cabins are to be registered includes a column for the surface of cabins, including berths, lockers and furniture, although the standards set out in Article 10(2) of the Convention in this respect are determined excluding the space occupied by berths and lockers. It hopes that the Government will modify the inspection form so as to allow verification of compliance with the standards set out by the Convention in relation to the floor area per person of sleeping rooms.

Finally, the Committee notes that, according to the inspection form, it is not necessary to provide for a sick bay on vessels engaged in coastal navigation where the crew numbers fewer than 15 persons or where all the members of the crew have an individual cabin with a private bathroom. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 13 of the Convention provides that on vessels of over 500 tonnes or on vessels of 45.7 metres in length or over, there shall be a sick bay. It invites the Government to make use of the criteria established by the Convention (tonnage or length) in relation to the obligation for there to be a sick bay on board.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government concerning the number of fishing vessels by category. It notes the indications contained in the Government’s report that the Department of Maritime Social Affairs establishes each month an inspection programme for vessels. It notes that 1,272 inspections to ascertain compliance with the provisions of Convention No. 126 were carried out between 2005 and 2009. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information of the application of the Convention in practice, including an indication of the percentage of cases in which violations of the provisions of Convention No. 126 were reported during these inspections and the measures taken as a result.

Finally, the Committee understands that the tripartite representatives of Panama participated in a seminar to promote the ratification of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188), organized by the ILO in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in August 2009. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any measures taken, as a follow-up to the seminar, with a view to the ratification of Convention No. 188, which revises and consolidates most ILO Conventions on work in the fishing sector, including Convention No. 126.