Brussels, 13/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 12 November European social partners from the maritime industry, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) for the unions, and the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) for the employers, signed an agreement in Brussels that will ensure transposition of certain provisions in the 2006 ILO Maritime Labour Convention (ILO MLC 2006) into Community legislation. Social partners are also insisting on the need to have labour standards applicable to sailors on boats. According to the terms of the agreement, the latter will enter into force at the same time as the ILO MLC 2006 Convention. This agreement concludes the negotiations begun between the partnerships on 29 September 2006.
The ETF and ECSA called on the European Commission to present a proposal to the Council, which will transpose the provisions from their agreement at a Community level. Once this transposition is completed, member states will be obliged to transpose provisions into national legislation.
The European Commission immediately gave a very warm welcome to this agreement but added that the procedure calls for legal analysis and conformity with EU law. It is highly likely that the agreement will be celebrated at the end of February 2008, in the presence of European Commissioners Vladimir Spidla (social affairs/employment) and Jacques Barrot (transport). (G.B.)