I would like to give the committee some background information, a current status report and the next steps in the ratification process of this new ILO consolidated convention. I understand committee members already have a copy of the Oireachtas scrutiny note on the proposal, and that a briefing note was recently circulated.
The ILO is the United Nations agency which deals with employment and labour market issues and whose mission is to improve standards and conditions of work and to encourage productive employment. Its membership has been growing rapidly in recent years, as a result of democratisation among other factors, particularly in eastern Europe. Membership now stands at 179 states. Ireland became a member in 1923. The ILO, being tripartite, is obviously unique among UN agencies and governments in so far as employers and workers all participate in its work and decision-making processes.
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 is an important new international labour convention adopted by the ILO under Article 19 of its constitution at a maritime session in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2006. It sets out seafarers' rights to decent conditions of work and helps to create conditions of fair competition for ship owners. It is intended to be globally applicable, easily understood, readily updateable and uniformly enforced. The convention contains a comprehensive set of global standards based on those already found in the 60-plus maritime labour instruments. These are either conventions or recommendations that have been adopted by the ILO since 1920.
The new convention brings almost all the existing maritime labour instruments together in a single new instrument that uses a new format with some updating where necessary to reflect modern conditions and language. The convention has been called the fourth pillar of the internationally regulatory regime for quality shipping. It complements the key conventions of the International Maritime Organisation, such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 will come into force 12 months after the date on which there will have been registered ratifications by at least 30 members with a total share in the gross world tonnage of ships of 33%. This ratification level is much higher than the usual level pertaining to ILO conventions. It uses a new formula intended to ensure a greater impact on the part of the convention. It reflects the fact that the enforcement and compliance system established under the convention requires widespread international co-operation in order to be effective.
Since many of the obligations under the convention are directed at shipowners and flag states, it is important that ILO members with a strong maritime interest and high level of tonnage operating under their legal jurisdictions ratify the convention. The existing ILO maritime labour conventions will gradually be phased out as ILO member states that have ratified them ratify the new one. There will be a transition period when some parallel conventions will be enforced. Countries that ratify the maritime labour convention of 2006 will no longer be bound by the existing conventions when the new one comes into force. Countries that do not ratify the new convention will remain bound by the existing ones they have ratified, but those conventions will be closed to further ratification.
Ireland's policy is to ratify ILO conventions only when our national law complies with the various articles in a convention. This strict policy of conformity with national legislation allows for proof of compliance with these ILO instruments. It means that Ireland's tally of ratified conventions stands at 58 out of a total of 187 conventions. In the case of maritime conventions, of which there are more than 30, Ireland has ratified 17. Conventions that have not yet been ratified are kept under constant review.
Let me refer to the process Ireland proposes to undertake regarding the ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, but let me first refer to recent EU developments. The Transport Council on 12 December 2006 reached agreement on a proposal for a decision authorising EU member states to ratify the maritime labour convention. The proposal aims at authorising member states to ratify the convention since some of the issues covered by it fall under the competence of the European Community and others under the competence of the member states. Article 2 of the agreed decision states that member states should make efforts to take the necessary steps to deposit their instruments of ratification of the convention with the ILO as soon as possible and preferably before 31 December 2010.
The next steps for ratification in Ireland are that an interdepartmental committee comprising officials from the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Transport, and its agency the marine survey office, Social and Family Affairs and Health and Children would be convened to determine if Ireland can ratify the new consolidated convention within the timeframe set out in Article 2 of the recent EU Transport Council decision. This interdepartmental committee has already met in preparation for today's session. In line with long-standing procedures, ratification of ILO convention is done by way of a memorandum for Government and associated White Paper, which will be laid before the Oireachtas by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for labour affairs.