Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Bill

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006 is a Seafarers' Bill of Rights that aims to achieve decent work for more than 1.2 million seafarers around the world by providing employment and social protection.

The MLC covers almost every aspect of work and life on board ships. It heartens me that Singapore is the first Asian country to ratify the MLC on 14 June 2011. Singapore contributed significantly towards the ratification requirements for the convention to come into force on 20 August 2013.

In fact, we were pleasantly surprised and delighted that ILO chose Singapore as the launching pad for the implementation of the MLC and it was organised within a short span of time onboard Neptune Orient Lines' "APL Yangshan".

There were live feeds of the interviews being broadcast all over the world. The efforts, collaboration and hard work put in by our tripartite partners, namely, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Shipping Association, Singapore Maritime Officers' Union and Singapore Organisation of Seamen were historical in showcasing to the world that with pervasive tripartism, anything is possible.

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Sir, to ensure that Singapore would be ready for the implementation of the MLC, I commend the efforts and hard work put in by the Ministries of Manpower and Transport and, especially, the MPA. The MPA initiated the Tripartite Working Group where a total of more than 20 official meetings, as well as countless smaller scale discussions and deliberations with various stakeholders took place over the last seven years.

It is heartening to know that the very nature of pervasive tripartism was demonstrated through this process where all tripartite partners were actively involved in the formation of the national determinants for compliance with the MLC that led to the current legislation of this Bill.

Seafarers can now look forward to fair terms of employment, decent living and working conditions onboard ships. This will include minimum standards for social protection encompassing medical care, health protection, a formalised structure for complaints and welfare.

Being the first Asian country to ratify this convention also sends a strong signal to the world. Singapore, being one of the world's busiest ports of call, is stringent in our requirements to ensure decent living for all seafarers onboard vessels which fly the Singapore flag. This is the embodiment of Singapore's core values, where we leave no worker behind as the nation progresses.

I would like to strongly encourage this spirit of tripartism to prevail as our Tripartite Working Group partners continue to work on the regulations and enforcement policies. Having a convention on paper is not good enough. The dangers that seafarers face are very real when they are away from home for months, sailing the vast oceans, braving the ever-changing climatic conditions, and words on paper, if they are not put into action, Sir, will do nothing to help them.

We cannot condone issues, such as non-payment of wages, piracy, abuse, social dumping and failure of repatriation in Singapore. We aspire to be an International Maritime Centre which we are proud to call our own. Implementation, in itself, is going to be a huge challenge and I hope that MPA can give substantial focus and scrutiny into how we address these challenges:

Firstly, with the increased number of vessels registering in Singapore and calling at our ports, are the current manpower levels in MPA sufficient to cope with the added responsibilities of quality inspection on the working conditions

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on board ships for compliance?

Secondly, will there be adequate training resources to ensure that the MPA's Flag State and Port State Control Officers are equipped with the additional relevant competencies to conduct these inspections?

Thirdly, how will the authorities ensure compliance of the Act by all ship owners and ship managers?

Lastly, will MPA's Port State Control Officers ensure a "no more favourable treatment" by detaining foreign ships that do not comply with the MLC, so that there is a level-playing field for our Singapore shipping owners and employers who have put in significant resources and effort to ensure compliance?

This journey towards implementing the MLC has made the various stakeholders more aware of the working and living conditions on board ships and, thus, more accountable. With this understanding, shipowners are now working on making improvements. Seafarers are also more appreciative of their employers' efforts in ensuring the provision of a conducive work environment.

With the coming into force of the MLC, and as a unionist with the SMOU, I hope to see less occurrences of seafarers suffering from unpaid wages and seafarers who are abandoned. To put it into perspective, since the year 1993, SMOU has intervened in more than 447 cases, helping seafarers from different nationalities to recover some US$15 million of unpaid wages. I hope that the enforcement of the MLC will serve as a deterrent against errant employers.

Singapore is a responsible maritime nation and we have the structure, as well as capable manpower resource, in place. More work has to be done by all relevant stakeholders in the coming months, before the MLC Act enters into force on 1 April 2014.

I am confident that the MLC Act will not only protect seafarers' rights, but in the long run benefit all responsible shipowners, thus, keeping the shipping industry vibrant and attractive. Sir, I support the Bill.

Sir, I would also like to add that, as you can see, I look somewhat incomplete this evening because my fellow Nominated Member of Parliament and bipartite partner, Mr Teo Siong Seng, has to leave for an overseas meeting. And he has asked me to convey to this House that he and SSA are ardently

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supporting this Bill. And I thank you for this.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Merchant Shipping Bill where Singapore will adopt and give effect to the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

Many of you may not be familiar with the impact of this Bill and its role in giving effect to the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. In fact, it is one of the few International Conventions we have ratified in recent years and is a milestone for labour, thereby giving efficacy to a piece of international labour law.

NTUC and the Labour Movement have recently highlighted our emphasis on the 4Ps. They are Protection, Progression, Placement and Privileges. Protection in terms of advocacy and workplace representation; Progression in terms of ensuring workers stay future-ready and future-proof; Placement through facilitating employment and employability through our programmes and career services; and Privileges for the benefit of our members.

With this Bill, we will strengthen the Protection of our seafarers, in terms of employment, health, working and living conditions and other items. The alignment to international labour conventions will also enhance Singapore's reputation as a major global port of call, improve manpower recruitment and sharpen our competitive edge in maritime services. I would like to commend the tripartite partners, the Employers, namely, the Singapore Shipping Association, MOT, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and our unions, Singapore Organisation of Seaman and Singapore Maritime Officers' Union, for their untiring efforts in endorsing this Convention and bringing this Bill to fruition.

Just as the Employment Act amendments have led to a sea change effect in extending the scope of coverage for PMEs, the introduction of this Bill would be instrumental in protecting seafarers in the recovery of wages, overtime and leave benefits.

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With the global shortage of seafarers, we need to take concrete steps to ensure their welfare and attract Singaporeans to what is deemed to be a tough and risky job. The Bill will also provide our regulator, MPA, the legal authority to enforce any potential infringements by foreign-flagged ships which have made Singapore their port of call.

The Merchant Shipping Bill is a major boost and recognition of the rights of seafarers in Singapore. For the seafarers, the challenges they face at work are multi-faceted. This includes being exposed to the elements, piracy, being constantly away from home and having only limited time with the family. With this Bill, we have set out an equitable framework and system of accountability with the ship-owners that will give due credence to the tough working conditions that our seafarers face at sea. In due course, we should continually review the current penalties for contravention to ensure greater deterrence against violation.

Not only does this Bill provide workplace protection for our seafarers, it also seeks to improve the quality of life for seafarers like any other employee. This includes being entitled to full annual leave without having them sacrifice because of their nature of work which runs over public holidays as well as temporary shore leave and training. For public holidays, seafarers should be similarly compensated with replacement off-in-lieu or payment in lieu. Seafarers, too, would also need their work-life balance just like any employees on land and should not be assumed to be used to an irregular lifestyle. As for regulating the hours of rest for seafarers, a pragmatic approach is taken in relation to the maritime working environment. The division of work and rest hours will have to follow stipulations under the law, with the rest hours properly logged in records. The ship master will have to submit these records of rest to the seafarers at the end of each month. I am heartened to note that these aspects of fair working hours will be captured in the Merchant Shipping Bill which would put seafarers on par with any other employees on land.

Regulating the shipping requirements and environment forms another key thrust in the Merchant Shipping Bill. It is important to provide a safe working environment for seafarers and ensure that food, medical access and accommodation are up to standard with international requirements.

In terms of repatriation and termination of contract for seafarers, the Merchant Shipping Bill provides greater clarity in terms of the criteria and conditions to be met. For example, young sailors can be repatriated if found unfit for life at sea once they have served on a ship for at least four months. All repatriation cases are stated to be at the employers' expense and the seafarer

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can decide on the location where he is to be repatriated. The Bill will, thus, enforce responsible behaviour on the part of employers and ship-owners.

Similarly, on wages, the Bill has made important provisions that will safeguard the interests of seafarers when unforeseen situations or factors lead to premature termination of contract. For example, this could happen in the case of a shipwreck or loss of ship. The wages of the seafarers are still payable by binding employment agreements. Arrears or non-payment of wages have been a perennial issue faced by seafarers over the years. For example, in early 2013, SMOU had assisted the crew of Aiden Marine to recover unpaid wages of $20,000 when the employer AZ Marine prematurely terminated the crew's contracts. The Bill will help to expedite and resolve similar infringements in the future and, hopefully, reduce the incidence of such cases.

Beyond the legal framework, an important consideration for the seafaring profession would be looking at how best we can enhance the career paths of seafarers and attract more professionals to view it as a viable career. Career progression could be a long-drawn process. For example, a cadet engineer with a diploma will take about eight years to become a chief engineer, while a junior deck officer will take 10 years to become a ship captain. I know of a resident of mine who shared with me that he is keen to enter the shipping industry. He is in his early thirties and has a degree qualification from one of our local universities. Would there be career opportunities for Singaporeans like him to enter into this industry but hopefully on a faster track? To keep pace with the changing employment landscape and needs of the new generation of workers, the relevant authorities can study how to expedite the career tracks for navigation and engineering, bearing in mind the need for competency, safety, skills and experience.

NTUC‘s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), Singapore Maritime Officers' Union, Workforce Development Agency and Singapore Shipping Association started the Tripartite Nautical Training Award (TNTA) in 2009 that aims to attract and train more Singaporeans to join the maritime industry which is one of the local essential services sectors. The initiative started with a pilot of placing and training 80 locals with "N" levels and above qualifications as Certificate of Competency Class 3 cadets over 31 months. To date, the initiative has put 135 locals through the training, with a retention rate of about 75%. Two of the trainees – Mr Afham Hatim Bin Kamarudini and Mr Ahmad Helmi Bin Kamarudin have just graduated from the 31-month programme and they are now full-fledged Class 3 cadets with a monthly salary of $3,000. We have another five more cadets going for certification this year in April. I hope we can do more to inject fresh blood into this growth sector and develop career tracks

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to attract more Singaporeans to be placed in this sector at all levels of the hierarchy.

In conclusion, I would like to applaud the introduction of the Merchant Shipping Bill. These efforts to better protect our seafarers and their families and facilitate their progression will ensure the industry is well placed for success. I support the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill that will have a significant impact on those who work in our maritime sector.

The seafarers' employment agreement is an important document that will help protect the welfare and interests of those employed in the industry. I fully agree with clause 14 of the Bill that the seafarer must be familiarised with the agreement, understand it fully and even be allowed to seek advice on it before signing the same. In order to facilitate this to ensure that the seafarer has been given sufficient time to do all of these, especially if the seafarer's native language is not English or if he does not understand English well, then it is important that we mandate through this Bill that the seafarer be given at least a week to study the agreement and seek advice before he is required to sign on it. I feel this is important as it ensures that the seafarer is not forced to sign the agreement before he is given ample time to understand it.

While the Bill helps protect the interests of seafarers, it must also ensure that the employers, too, must be protected. Firstly, any seafarer found furnishing his employer with fake, inaccurate or misleading information or documentation prior to or during the signing of the employment agreement should also be found to contravene this Act and be liable to conviction. Since Singapore's maritime industry is world-class and world-renowned, it is important to protect the integrity in all parts of the sector, including its manpower force. We cannot compromise on the quality of the workforce in the maritime sector, and, therefore, it is important to have a strong deterrent to make sure that the seafarer hired is suitably qualified.

Rest for the seafarer is another area where we cannot compromise as this affects the welfare of the seafarer and could also affect the quality of his work. So, while the Bill specifies that no person shall cause or permit payment to be made in lieu of hours of rest, it should also stipulate that no person shall receive

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payment in lieu of hours of rest.

This rest period should also extend to the seafarer when he is unwell. It should be mandated that every vessel has a doctor on board, the violation of which will result in a heavy penalty. This will allow a seafarer who is unwell to be attended to urgently and not wait until they reach a port. If the doctor feels that the seafarer should be allowed medical leave of rest to recover, then the employer should be mandated to approve and ensure that the seafarer gets that prescribed rest. Any contravention of both of these rules should then be liable to conviction with a strong penalty as a deterrent.

Some of the medical attention needed by seafarers may arise out of work accidents. Therefore, employers will need to pay great attention to safety standards on board ships and help ensure that these are adhered to.

Hence, employers should be mandated to send all seafarers on their payroll, especially new ones, for safety and training courses. I would like to urge the MPA to consider that seafarers be allowed employment only upon satisfactory completion of the mandated health and safety courses as is currently done in the construction industry. This will help ensure that seafarers entering the industry already go in with the requisite knowledge and skills on safety standards. MPA may also consider ensuring that all maritime companies mandate that their seafarers spend some pre-assigned hours per year on safety courses. This will help build the safety capabilities in their companies while updating the knowledge of the seafarer and keeping it relevant. In fact, I would even say that it should be mandated that each vessel have a safety officer on board whose main duty is to oversee all safety standards on board and to take measures to promote them and ensure that they are adhered to.

In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I applaud the MPA for adopting the Maritime Labour Convention and using it as a guide to help elevate our maritime sector to a higher level. With steps taken to ensure that the welfare of our seafarers is taken care of, including wages, fair employment practices and health and safety standards, we will help ensure that our maritime sector truly becomes world-class. With that, I support the Bill, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker, let me first thank the Members who have spoken in support of the Bill. They include our Labour Members who have voiced their support. They also include employers like Mr Dhinakaran who gave unequivocal support to this Bill. Mr Teo Siong Seng is not able to join us for the debate but he has, very interestingly, conveyed his support through a unionist. I think this can happen only in Singapore and not in many other places in the world.

As many Members have highlighted, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is a major international instrument that will substantially improve the well-being of seafarers around the world. I think Ms Mary Liew shared with us that number is 1.2 million. We, therefore want, as Mr Christopher de Souza has said, to align our seafarer employment laws with the international standards enshrined in the MLC. It is the right thing to do.

Ms Mary Liew and Mr Patrick Tay have asked about our implementation of the MLC. Let me assure the House that the Government has and will continue to work closely with the maritime industry and seafarer unions to ensure the full and fair implementation of the MLC.

We agree with Ms Liew that it is important to ensure a level playing field for the shipping community in Singapore. We will, indeed, be adopting the approach of "no more favourable treatment" when enforcing the MLC on applicable Singapore-registered and foreign ships ‘” in other words, Singapore-registered ships and foreign ships calling at our port will be treated exactly the same way. This is a fundamental principle that underpins the international shipping industry and is, therefore, a key tenet of the MLC.

I would further like to assure Ms Liew that MPA has steadily built up its capabilities to administer the MLC. For example, MPA has increased its pool of marine surveyors and conducted extensive training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to enforce the MLC. MPA has also invested in information technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its ship inspections.

Mr Dhinakaran shared his concerns on the need to protect the interests of the seafarers as well as their employers. These key concerns have been addressed in the Bill. For example, the provision of fraudulent documents for the seafarer employment agreement is an offence under the Bill. We have taken a practical approach balancing the needs of different parties. For example,

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instead of requiring a doctor to be onboard every ship, ships are required to carry seafarers who are trained in medical first-aid to care for unwell seafarers.

Mr Dhinakaran had also asked what were the measures in place to ensure safety training and that seafarers were equipped in times of emergency. Now, under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping, seafarers are already required to receive familiarisation training before being assigned to shipboard duties. This familiarisation training includes emergency evacuation procedures. Depending on the scope of their duties, seafarers are also required to be trained in occupational safety.

Under the International Safety Management Code for Ships, shipping companies have to establish procedures for identifying any training in support of their safety management systems. Seafarers would have to follow such procedures for safety training. It is not just training the seafarers but also putting the onus on the shipping companies to ensure that there are procedures in place and they need to carry out the drills. In today's context, where some parts of the sea lanes are under constant threat, in fact, I think shipping companies and seafarers take this type of training very seriously and they will go through their drills.

Mr Patrick Tay pointed to the need to continue growing a core of local seafarers to support our maritime industry, I could not agree with him more. Members have recognised that by strengthening the legal framework for seafarer employment, this Bill will complement the efforts that MPA and its tripartite partners have put in to attract more Singaporeans to take up seafaring careers. We heard from Mr Tay the efforts of the e2i in partnership with MPA as well as with the Singapore Shipping Association, the training courses that have been launched and how individuals have been impacted by these courses and embarked on meaningful and well-paying careers. Besides safeguarding the well-being of seafarers, MPA will also continue working with our tripartite partners to enhance the training and career progression for seafarers, especially to raise the awareness of Singaporeans of the attractive career opportunities in this area.

Sir, in conclusion, I would like to recognise the strong tripartite partnership which includes the shipping community and the unions who have worked with the MPA in preparation for compliance with the new regulatory regime under the MLC and, as with any new set of maritime regulations, MPA will actively gather feedback and regularly review our implementation of the MLC. The passing of this Bill is an important milestone for Maritime Singapore and demonstrates our steadfast commitment to enhancing the well-being of

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seafarers. I am confident that with the continued strong support of our tripartite partners, we will be able to effectively implement our international obligations under the MLC. Sir, I beg to move.