Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Certification of Ships' Cooks Convention, 1946 (No. 69) - French Polynesia

Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Certificate of qualification as ship’s cook. The Committee recalls that, since the entry into force of the Convention for French Polynesia, the Government has been asserting that there are no local requirements for the qualification of cooks on board ship. In view of this situation, the Committee has been calling upon the Government in its comments since 1985 to take the necessary measures to give effect to the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention, for example by extending to French Polynesia the provisions applicable in the metropolitan territory. The Committee also notes that, according to the National Repertoire of Vocational Certificates, preparation for the certificate of qualification as a ship’s cook, which in principle involves 742 hours in the training centre and continuous assessment of a range of areas of knowledge and practice, is not accessible in French Polynesia. The Committee notes that section 73 of the Maritime Labour Code provides that on each vessel on which the seafarers are fed by the shipowner, there shall be a cook qualified for the post of over 18 years of age. However, it understands that Act No. 66-508 of 12 July 1966 extending to certain overseas territories the provisions of the Maritime Labour Code, which made the Code applicable in the territory of French Polynesia among others, has been repealed. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions which currently give effect to Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention, so as to ensure that no person may be engaged as a cook on board a ship if he or she does not possess a certificate of aptitude to exercise the profession, granted in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. In this respect, it draws the Government’s attention to the fact that minimum standards on the training and qualification of ships’ cooks were included in Regulation 3.2(3), Standard A3.2(3), (4), (6) and (8), and Guideline B3.2.2 of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), which revises Convention No. 69 and 67 other international maritime labour instruments. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to give effect to Convention No. 69 in a manner which will ensure that effect is given to the corresponding provisions of the MLC, 2006, once the latter has been ratified and entered into force. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress achieved in this respect.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including information on the manner in which the Maritime Affairs Service enforces the provisions of section 73 of the Maritime Labour Code respecting the certificate of qualification which has to be held by ships’ cooks, including reports of inspections and information on the number of violations reported and the measures adopted as a result.