A34. Can the ILO help me to recover unpaid wages or deal with other problems I am experiencing on board a ship?
The ILO may provide some general information with respect to its Conventions, such as the MLC, 2006, including contact information for the flag State competent authority that would have responsibility to address these issues if the flag State has ratified the MLC, 2006 [see A25 and A28]. However, as an international organization, the ILO does not implement international law or directly regulate workers or employers (or shipowners, ships or seafarers) [see A7.]. Its role is to facilitate the development of international standards and to promote and assist with implementation by its Members at the national level. Under the MLC, 2006 the Director-General of the ILO has some specific responsibilities related to the receipt and communication of information required by the Convention to be provided to ILO Members. The ILO also undertakes a review of its Members’ national implementation of ratified Conventions through the usual oversight role taken by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations under the ILO supervisory system 32 (a system established under the Constitution of the ILO). In the most serious situations, such as certain cases of abandonment of seafarers [see C2.5.2.b.], seafarers’ or shipowners’ organizations might request the urgent intervention of the ILO Director-General. As a result, the ILO contacts the governments concerned and encourages them to solve the situation without delay.
General questions about the MLC, 2006