Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Accommodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1970 (No. 133) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1977)

Article 3 of the Convention. Crew accommodation requirements – Implementing legislation. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention since soon after the time of ratification of the Convention to the absence of laws or regulations implementing the specific technical standards set out in Parts II and III of the Accommodation of Crews Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 92) and Part I of this Convention. The Committee notes with regret that despite the numerous comments, the Government has to date not been in a position to provide any explanations as to whether and how this Convention is applied in law and practice. In its last report, the Government states that there are no ships engaged in maritime navigation to which the Convention would apply whereas in earlier reports it had referred to passenger ferries of over 1,000 tons which make short journeys between Uruguay and Argentina. The Committee requests the Government to provide the necessary clarifications on the size and composition of its merchant fleet in the light of the information contained in the “World Fleet Statistics” of December 2009, which indicates that Uruguay has 129 vessels with a total tonnage of 109,279 tons. Furthermore, to the extent that seagoing ships of 1,000 or more tons are registered in Uruguay, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures it intends to take to ensure compliance with the detailed requirements of the Convention.

Finally, the Committee recalls that most of the provisions of Conventions Nos 92 and 133 concerning crew accommodation have been incorporated without significant changes in Regulation 3.1 and Standard A3.1 of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), which apply only to vessels constructed on or after the date when the MLC, 2006, comes into force for the country concerned whereas for existing vessels the standards relating to ship construction and equipment that are set out in Conventions Nos 92 and 133 should continue to apply. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep the Office informed of any further developments regarding the process of ratification and effective implementation of the MLC, 2006.