Acting Senate President Jinggoy
Estrada has re-filed a bill seeking to protect the rights and welfare of
Filipino seafarers and their families as set by the Maritime Labor Convention
(MLC) of 2006.
In filing Senate Bill 21, Estrada
said the draft Magna Carta for Seafarers also seeks to institute mechanisms for
the enforcement and protection of their rights, provide compulsory benefits and
implement the standards set by the MLC.
Estrada, chairman of the Senate
committee on labor, employment and human resources development, co-sponsored
Senate ratification of the MLC of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Senate Resolution 118, or Resolution
Concurring in the Ratification of MLC, 2006, was adopted on Aug. 13,
2012. The Philippines is the 30th country to ratify MLC.
The bill defines the seafarers’
fundamental rights to a safe and secure workplace and to fair terms of
employment as prescribed by the MLC.
It also covers the right to
self-organization, to engage in collective bargaining, and to participate in
democratic exercises, among others.
Once passed into law, Filipino
seafarers will have the right to be consulted before any policy or regulation
affecting them will be adopted.
They will also be protected against
discrimination by reason of race, sex, religion and political opinion; will
have access to communication, and decent wage rates as set by the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.
Estrada said the magna carta also
gives the seafarers an eight-hour work period, which should not exceed 14 hours
in a 24-hour work period, or 72 hours in any 7-day period.
According to ILO, there are more
than 1.2 million seafarers worldwide and Filipino seafarers make up 30 percent
of the global shipping fleet.
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