Seafarers’ Rights in China

The overall objective of the research is to critically investigate the conditions of seafarers’ rights in China in legislation and practice; in particular, the restructuring process under the impact of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006. In order to achieve the objective of this research, key research questions were posed which sought the responses of Chinese major stakeholders to the Convention, to identify whether improvement in the protection of Chinese seafarers had taken place since the advent of the Convention, and further, to identify the continuing challenges for improvement. The key findings that have emerged from this research include that the Chinese government has adopted a considerable body of legal instruments as countermeasures to the Convention. However, although seafarer protection in China has been improved significantly, in particular in the areas of pre-employment conditions, there are still many serious problems. The major challenges for future improvement come from not only the front of the government authorities, but also from the practices of the maritime industry, as well as from Chinese seafarers themselves.

Ocean-going seafarers receive special attention at the ILO, the UN’s specialised agency whose main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues (ILO 2013). For example, the ILO has the Joint Maritime Commission (JMC), a specialist bipartite standing body (representing shipowners and seafarers) designed particularly for workers in the shipping industry, which provides advice to the Governing Body on maritime issues, including labour standard-setting for the shipping industry (ILO 2011). The JMC represents the only statutory wage-fixing mechanism across all the sectors in the world economy (UN 2013).

The sea has been the world’s greatest highway and can be used by all countries. However, the power of the sea and the weather are still uncontrollable, and seafaring is one of the world’s most dangerous occupations (Ozcayir 2001, p. 35). First, working aboard a ship is unlike occupations on land. Seafarers are exposed daily to ‘an unusual hazardous situation, natural disasters, highly risky and dangerous working environment and poor living conditions’ (Dimitrova 2010, p. 32). In addition, seafarers are at a great distance from shore, it is therefore very difficult for them to obtain external assistance, and they have to rely primarily on themselves when the ship is in an emergency situation. Seafaring is therefore considered as one of the most dangerous professions ‘involving high fatality’, and seafarers are working in an ‘extremely complex and strenuous environment’ (Zevallos et al. 2014).

When seafarers are employed, they are faced with a variety of in-employment conditions. The rights and obligations of seafarers and their employers will be subject to the seafarers’ employment contract and to the compulsory requirements under national laws and regulations. In this chapter, the term ‘in-employment conditions’ refers to the other aspect being compared with pre-employment conditions. To certain extent, seafarers’ employment relationship are primarily determined by the terms and conditions in their contract. The seafarer’s employment contract is therefore of essential importance to the seafarer, and all seafarers have the right to have a signed contract as evidence of their employment relationship. Moreover, seafarers’ in-employment conditions rely on the proper implementation of the terms and conditions of the contract.

This chapter summarises the key findings from the study and highlights how the research contributes to the understanding of the impact of the MLC 2006 on Chinese seafarers’ rights. It discusses the way in which the book has answered the research question and acknowledges some of the significance and limitations of the research process. It also identifies a number of supplementary findings that emerged from the study and that have an indirect yet important influence on the effective implementation of the MLC 2006. The final section draws out the policy and practice implications of the research and suggests how further research is essential for a better understanding of the subject.