ILO Compendium of Maritime Labour Instruments

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, has become the "fourth pillar" of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, complementing the key Conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It sets out seafarers' rights to decent conditions of work and helps establish conditions for fair competition for ship-owners. The 2014 amendments to the Convention are included in this edition.

The Convention contains a comprehensive set of global standards, consolidating almost all the existing maritime labour Conventions and Recommendations that have been adopted since 1920 in a new Convention that reflects modern conditions in the industry. The Convention establishes international requirements for decent work for all seafarers, including minimum terms in seafarers' employment agreements, minimum age, medical fitness requirements, training, wages, leave, repatriation, on-board accommodation and catering, medical care, occupational safety and health, welfare and social security.