44 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 9 



International (Contd.): 



INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION 



TWO CONVENTIONS ON CONDITIONS OF 

 WORK IN FISHING INDUSTRY APPROVED 

 AT INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE: 

 The International Labor Organization (ILO), 

 a United Nations specialized agency devoted 

 to improving working conditions, held its an- 

 nual International Labor Conference at Gene- 

 va, Switzerland, June 1-23, 1966. Delegates 

 from over 100 member governments were 

 present. One of the items on the Conference 

 agenda was "Questions Concerning Fisher- 

 men." The Conference referred these mat- 

 ters to its Committee on Fishermen. 



In considering these matters, the Commit- 

 tee had before it the texts of three proposed 

 international instruments which resulted from 

 the Preparatory Technical Conference on 

 Fishermen's Questions held by the ILO at 

 Geneva, October 18-28, 1965. The proposed 

 instruments were: (1) a Recommendation 

 Concerning Vocational Training of Fisher- 

 men; (2) a Convention on Fishermen's Cer- 

 tificates of Competency; and (3) a Convention 

 on Accommodation on Board Fishing Vessels. 

 A fourth item was added to the Committee's 

 work when a Resolution concerning the Fu- 

 ture Work of the International Labor Organi- 

 zation on Fishermen's Questions was re- 

 ferred to the Committee. 



The Recommendation Concerning Vocation- 

 al Training of Fishermenwas adopted unani- 

 mously by the Committee. The Conference 

 approved it by a vote of 330 for, none against 

 with 6 abstentions. The United States dele- 

 gates who were present voted yes. (The U.S. 

 Worker delegate did not participate in Con- 

 ference consideration of the "Questions Con- 

 cerning Fishermen.") Planning and admin- 

 istration of fishermen's training programs, 

 financing, training standards, qualifications 

 of instructors, methods of training, and in- 

 ternational cooperation are among the sub- 

 jects covered by the Recommendation. It 

 should aid in the recruitment of skilled per- 

 sonnel for fishing. 



The proposed Convention on Fishermen's 

 Certificates of Competency was also adopted 

 by the Committee. The Conference approved 

 the Convention by a vote of 284 for, none a- 

 gainst, and 14 abstentions with the U. S. 

 Government and Employer delegates abstain- 

 ing from the vote on this matter. These U- 



nited States delegates would have preferred 

 to have this instrument in the form of a Rec- 

 om^mendation rather than a Convention. 



This Convention, when activated and sub- 

 scribed to by various nations, will require, 

 with certain minor exceptions, that all skip- 

 pers on fishing vessels 25 gross registered 

 tons and over, all mates on fishing vessels 

 over 100 gross registered tons, and all chief 

 engineers on fishing vessels with an engine 

 power above a level to be determined by the 

 competent authority in a nation, will be re- 

 quired to possess certificates of competency. 

 (Sport fishing, whaling, and commercialfish- 

 ing in freshwater areas are not covered by 

 this instrument.) These certificates are to 

 be issued after an applicant meets certain 

 minimum experience requirements and has 

 passed an examination which demonstrates 

 his capability to perform the required duties. 

 A "grandfather" provision would give blanket 

 certification to all those in such occupations 

 for a period of 3 years from the date of en- 

 actment of a nation's laws to implement the 

 Convention. 



The Committee also adopted the Conven- 

 tion on Accommodation on Board Fishing 

 Vessels. This Convention would apply to all 

 fishing vessels 75 gross tons or larger (ex- 

 cept sport fishing vessels, whaling vessels, 

 and vessels operating in freshwater). It ap- 

 plies to all new vessels and to major recon- 

 struction of existing vessels and requires 

 sleeping, mess, and sanitary facilities of a 

 certain minimum standard. The Conference 

 approved this Convention by a vote of 303 for, 

 none against with 16 abstentions. The U. S. 

 Government and Employer delegates abstained 

 from the final Conference vote on this matter. 



The two latter Conventions described a- 

 bove will now be opened for ratification. 

 Many nations will probably sign and imple- 

 ment the Convention terms. In the United 

 States, the U. S. Senate would have to con- 

 sider and approve these documents before 

 they could be implemented here. If the Sen- 

 ate should ever consider either or both Con- 

 ventions, adequate opportunity for presenta- 

 tion of views by the public would be provided. 



--By Walter H. Stplting 

 Division of Economics 

 U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 



