The General Conference of the International
Labour Organisation,
Having
been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour
Office, and having met in its Ninth Session on 7 June 1926, and
Having
decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to seamen's articles
of agreement, which is included in the first item of the agenda of the Session,
and
Having
determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international
Convention,
adopts
this twenty-fourth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and
twenty-six the following Convention, which may be cited as the Seamen’s
Articles of Agreement Convention, 1926, for ratification by the Members of the
International Labour Organisation in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation:
1. This
Convention shall apply to all sea-going vessels registered in the country of
any Member ratifying this Convention and to the owners, masters and seamen of
such vessels.
2. It shall not apply to –
a) ships of war,
b) Government vessels not engaged in trade,
c) vessels engaged in the coasting trade,
d) pleasure yachts,
e) Indian country craft,
f) fishing vessels,
g) vessels
of less than 100 tons gross registered tonnage or 300 cubic metres, nor to
vessels engaged in the home trade below the tonnage limit prescribed by
national law for the special regulation of this trade at the date of the
passing of this Convention.
For the
purpose of this Convention the following expressions have the meanings hereby
assigned to them, viz.:
a) the
term “vessel” includes any ship or boat of any nature whatsoever, whether
publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in maritime navigation;
b) the
term “seaman” includes every person employed or engaged in any capacity on
board any vessel and entered on the ship's articles. It excludes masters,
pilots, cadets and pupils on training ships and duly indentured apprentices,
naval ratings, and other persons in the permanent service of a Government;
c) the
term “master” includes every person having command and charge of a vessel
except pilots;
d) the
term “home trade vessel” means a vessel engaged in trade between a country and
the ports of a neighbouring country within geographical limits determined by
the national law.
1.
Articles of agreement shall be signed both by the shipowner or his
representative and by the seaman. Reasonable facilities to examine the articles
of agreement before they are signed shall be given to the seaman and also to
his adviser.
2. The
seaman shall sign the agreement under conditions which shall be prescribed by
national law in order to ensure adequate supervision by the competent public
authority.
3. The
foregoing provisions shall be deemed to have been fulfilled if the competent
authority certifies that the provisions of the agreement have been laid before
it in writing and have been confirmed both by the shipowner or his
representative and by the seaman.
4.
National law shall make adequate provision to ensure that the seaman has
understood the agreement.
5. The
agreement shall not contain anything which is contrary to the provisions of
national law or of this Convention.
6.
National law shall prescribe such further formalities and safeguards in respect
of the completion of the agreement as may be considered necessary for the
protection of the interests of the shipowner and of the seaman.
1.
Adequate measures shall be taken in accordance with national law for ensuring
that the agreement shall not contain any stipulation by which the parties
purport to contract in advance to depart from the ordinary rules as to
jurisdiction over the agreement.
2. This Article shall not be interpreted as
excluding a reference to arbitration.
1. Every
seaman shall be given a document containing a record of his employment on board
the vessel. The form of the document, the particulars to be recorded and the
manner in which such particulars are to be entered in it shall be determined by
national law.
2. The document shall not contain any
statement as to the quality of the seaman’s work or as to his wages.
1. The
agreement may be made either for a definite period or for a voyage or, if
permitted by national law, for an indefinite period.
2. The
agreement shall state clearly the respective rights and obligations of each of
the parties.
3. It
shall in all cases contain the following particulars:
1) the
surname and other names of the seaman, the date of his birth or his age, and
his birthplace;
2) the
place at which and date on which the agreement was completed;
3) the
name of the vessel or vessels on board which the seaman undertakes to serve;
4) the
number of the crew of the vessel, if required by national law;
5) the
voyage or voyages to be undertaken, if this can be determined at the time of
making the agreement;
6) the
capacity in which the seaman is to be employed;
7) if possible,
the place and date at which the seaman is required to report on board for
service;
8) the
scale of provisions to be supplied to the seaman, unless some alternative
system is provided for by national law;
9) the
amount of his wages;
10) the
termination of the agreement and the conditions thereof, that is to say:
a) if the agreement has been made for a
definite period, the date fixed for its expiry;
b) if the
agreement has been made for a voyage, the port of destination and the time
which has to expire after arrival before the seaman shall be discharged;
c) if the
agreement has been made for an indefinite period, the conditions which shall
entitle either party to rescind it, as well as the required period of notice
for rescission; provided that such period shall not be less for the shipowner
than for the seaman;
11) the
annual leave with pay granted to the seaman after one year's service with the
same shipping company, if such leave is provided for by national law;
12) any
other particulars which national law may require.
If national law provides that a list of crew
shall be carried on board it shall specify that the agreement shall either be
recorded in or annexed to the list of crew.
In order
that the seaman may satisfy himself as to the nature and extent of his rights
and obligations, national law shall lay down the measures to be taken to enable
clear information to be obtained on board as to the conditions of employment,
either by posting the conditions of the agreement in a place easily accessible
from the crew’s quarters, or by some other appropriate means.
1. An
agreement for an indefinite period may be terminated by either party in any
port where the vessel loads or unloads, provided that the notice specified in
the agreement shall have been given, which shall not be less than twenty-four
hours.
2. Notice
shall be given in writing; national law shall provide such manner of giving
notice as is best calculated to preclude any subsequent dispute between the
parties on this point.
3.
National law shall determine the exceptional circumstances in which notice even
when duly given shall not terminate the agreement.
An agreement entered into for a voyage, for
a definite period, or for an indefinite period shall be duly terminated by—
a) mutual consent of the parties;
b) death of the seaman;
c) loss or total unseaworthiness of the
vessel;
d) any other cause that may be provided in
national law or in this Convention.
National law shall determine the circumstances
in which the owner or master may immediately discharge a seaman.
National
law shall also determine the circumstances in which the seaman may demand his
immediate discharge.
1. If a
seaman shows to the satisfaction of the shipowner or his agent that he can
obtain command of a vessel or an appointment as mate or engineer or to any
other post of a higher grade than he actually holds, or that any other
circumstance has arisen since his engagement which renders it essential to his interests
that he should be permitted to take his discharge, he may claim his discharge,
provided that without increased expense to the shipowner and to the
satisfaction of the shipowner or his agent he furnishes a competent and
reliable man in his place.
2. In such case, the seaman shall be
entitled to his wages up to the time of his leaving his employment.
1.
Whatever the reason for the termination or rescission of the agreement, an
entry shall be made in the document issued to the seaman in accordance with
Article 5 and in the list of crew showing that he has been discharged, and such
entry shall, at the request of either party, be endorsed by the competent
public authority.
2. The
seaman shall at all times have the right, in addition to the record mentioned
in Article 5, to obtain from the master a separate certificate as to the
quality of his work or, failing that, a certificate indicating whether he has
fully discharged his obligations under the agreement.
National law shall provide the measures to
ensure compliance with the terms of the present Convention.
The formal
ratifications of this Convention under the conditions set forth in the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation shall be communicated to
the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
1. This
Convention shall come into force at the date on which the ratifications of two
Members of the International Labour Organisation have been registered by the
Director-General.
2. It
shall be binding only upon those Members whose ratifications have been
registered with the International Labour Office.
3.
Thereafter, the Convention shall come into force for any Member at the date on
which its ratification has been registered with the International Labour
Office.
As soon as
the ratifications of two Members of the International Labour Organisation have
been registered with the International Labour Office, the Director-General of
the International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the
International Labour Organisation. He shall likewise notify them of the
registration of ratifications which may be communicated subsequently by other
Members of the Organisation.
Subject to
the provisions of Article 17, each Member which ratifies this Convention agrees
to bring the provisions of Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14 and 15 into operation not later than 1 January 1928, and to take such action
as may be necessary to make these provisions effective.
Each
Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention
engages to apply it to its colonies, possessions and protectorates, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution of the International
Labour Organisation.
A Member
which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten
years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act
communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for
registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the
date on which it is registered with the International Labour Office.
At least
once in ten years, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall
present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention
and shall consider the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference
the question of its revision or modification.
The French
and English texts of this Convention shall both be authentic.