Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1957)

1. In its previous comments the Committee noted that the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (Commencement No. 1), Order 1988 brought into force on 4 July 1988 many provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988, but excluded from coming into force of Schedule 5, the provision concerning the omission of section 89 from the Merchant Shipping Act 1970. Section 89 provides for the forcible return of seamen to ships registered in other countries.

The Government has previously indicated that section 89 could not be repealed while reciprocal arrangements, allowing for the forcible return of seafarers deserting their ships, remained in force with Portugal, Italy and Nicaragua.

The Committee notes the Government's information in its report for the period ending June 1991 that negotiations with Portugal were concluded with the termination of article 19 of the United Kingdom/Portugal Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, 1914, of which the aforementioned reciprocal agreement formed part. The Government further indicates that in Italy the internal procedures to modify the United Kingdom/Italian Consular Convention of June 1954, which included provision for the reciprocal agreement, were completed and that the modification was to enter into force on 29 July 1991. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide a copy of the provisions having modified the agreements with Portugal and Italy, respectively.

As concerns Nicaragua the Committee notes that at the time of the report negotiations remained suspended. The Committee hopes that negotiations have since been resumed and that the Government will report on progress made.

2. The Committee notes that section 42(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1970, was repealed by the Merchant Shipping Act (Commencement No. 1), Order 1988. The Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that this repeal ends any differentiation in criminal law between seafarers taking industrial action in a United Kingdom port or overseas and places them on the same footing as workers in shore-based industries.

3. The Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that if a seafarer wishes to withdraw his labour in furtherance of an industrial dispute and his vessel is in or approaching a port in the United Kingdom or the Limited European Trading Area he may do so (without committing an offence under the Merchant Shipping Act) by giving the notice required by the appropriate clause in the crew agreement. If the vessel is elsewhere in the world, it will not normally be possible for the seafarer to terminate his agreement unilaterally without putting himself in breach of his contract of employment. The Committee would appreciate that the Government provide copies of standard forms of crew agreements.

4. The Committee notes the Government's information that if a seafarer's employment is terminated for any reason outside the country in which he was recruited, the employer is under an absolute obligation to secure the seafarer's repatriation to the appropriate place of return. This applies even if the employment is terminated because of a breach of contract on the part of the seafarer, but in such cases the employer may recover the repatriation costs (and also the cost of sending out a replacement) from any wages then owed to the seafarer, subject to a limit of L200.