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

Medical Examination (Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 73) - Peru (Ratification: 1962)

Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention. Medical examination and right of appeal. The Committee notes that section E-010206 of Supreme Decree No. 028-DE/MGP of 25 May 2001 states that the registration of seafarers must be revalidated every two years, such revalidation being subject to the issue of a medical certificate. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the regulations of 29 December 1967 concerning the physical fitness of personnel of the merchant navy, fisheries and maritime services, which refer to the medical examinations required for such personnel and explicitly provide for a right of appeal for any persons denied a medical certificate, as required by Article 8 of the Convention, are still in force. If not, the Government is requested to provide information on the content of medical examinations for seafarers and to indicate the manner in which the right of appeal is ensured.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to supply general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the number of medical certificates issued each year to seafarers and also, if applicable, the number of infringements of the relevant provisions reported by the maritime inspection services and the measures taken to stop such infringements. The Government is also requested to indicate the manner in which the competent national authorities ensure effective monitoring of the practice and quality of medical examinations for non-resident foreign seafarers working on vessels flying the Peruvian flag, particularly when the examination is undertaken in the seafarer’s country of residence or domicile.

Finally, the Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), which revises Convention No. 73, and 67 other international instruments applicable to seafarers, establishes a comprehensive and up-to-date legislative framework for the regulation of the living and working conditions of seafarers – particularly as regards medical certificates – and promotes the establishment of a level playing field for shipowners. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken in this respect.