Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-07-01-Speech-1-047-000"
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"en.20130701.15.1-047-000"2
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"Mr President, I would like to start by thanking the Irish Presidency for its hard work and determination in getting an agreement on much-needed updates to the EU’s port State control system. The current directive needed updating to reflect the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, which was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and which provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for all seafarers, regardless of nationality and flag of ship.
The relevance of the port State control system to all of this is that it is seen to be the second line of defence against substandard shipping: a kind of safety net to support – or to catch out – flag States that have failed to ensure compliance with international standards. The Port State Control Directive deals with the enforcement side of international conventions, giving port States a clear role to play in ensuring compliance with international standards for safety, pollution prevention and on-board living and working conditions: hence the need to put in place a robust port State control system for the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 so that the maritime labour standards are applied on board all ships calling at EU ports.
It must be said that, if seafarers are to see real improvements in their conditions of employment, accommodation, social security protection and so on, we need ILO countries to get on with ratifying this convention. Sadly, this applies as much to EU countries as to non-EU countries. The Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 is due to come into force in August of this year, yet the following EU countries have not yet ratified it: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and, our newest member, Croatia. This means that 15 out of 28 EU Member States have yet to ratify the convention.
We can never be too quick in improving standards and conditions on board ships. As I think we all know, substandard ships are unacceptable, both in terms of workers’ rights, ships’ safety and security and with regard to environmental protection. The Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 and its enforcement via the Port State Control Directive are important tools in eliminating substandard shipping. I believe we obtained good compromises with the Council on some of the key points that were important to us in the revision of this directive, putting guarantees in place that the application of the revised directive would not result in any backward step in terms of employment and social rights, and ensuring a tighter system of control in EU waters for ships flying the flags of states that have not yet signed up to one or more of the international conventions.
I now ask that those Member States that I referred to earlier, who have yet to ratify this Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, should do so urgently before it comes into force in August."@en1
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