ONE CREW ONE VOICE
Maritime Labour Convention 2006 — the seafarers' bill of rights

Know what is already yours

Ratified by 111 states covering over 96.6% of world tonnage. The MLC sets minimums — a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or flag law can be better, never lawfully worse.

🟢 The MLC guarantees this

  • Rest: max 14 hrs work in any 24 hrs or min 10 hrs rest in 24 hrs and 77 hrs in 7 days. Rest in no more than 2 periods, one at least 6 hrs.
  • A signed SEA you can review before signing, with wages, leave (min 2.5 days/month), job, and repatriation stated — plus your own copy.
  • Pay at least monthly, in full, with a monthly account and the right to send an allotment home.
  • Free food and drinking water of proper quality, respecting religious and cultural needs.
  • Free medical care on board and ashore, and shipowner liability for sick wages for at least 16 weeks.
  • Repatriation at no cost to you when your contract ends abroad — max service on board must be under 12 months.
  • No recruitment fee charged to you for getting the job.
  • A complaint procedure — and the right to bypass it and complain directly to the flag state or a port state. Victimisation for a good-faith complaint is prohibited.
  • A copy of your own work/rest records, endorsed by the master or competent person.

🟡 We demand this — beyond the MLC

  • Free Wi-Fi. Since 23 Dec 2024 the MLC only says charges, if any, must be “reasonable.” Free is a demand, not yet a right.
  • A full weekly day off. The MLC mentions an 8-hour day with one rest day as a norm — its binding limits do not deliver it.
  • A single cabin. The MLC permits sharing within minimum size standards. “MLC-compliant” does not mean private.
  • A universal binding minimum wage for every rank. The $690/month figure from 1 Jan 2026 is a recommended guideline for an Able Seafarer only.
  • Uninterrupted rest aligned with adult sleep needs — Cardiff SIRC's own recommendation for reform.
  • Full gratuity-pool transparency and sick pay that reflects what you actually earn.
  • Suicide covered by death compensation in every cruise CBA — ITF's Mind At Sea demand, already won in Norwegian Seafarers' Union cruise agreements.
Between a quarter and a third of seafarers don't feel safe raising concerns

Get help — safely, off the ship first

A procedure existing is not the same as a procedure trusted. If complaining only to your own supervisor feels unsafe, it is not the only route — and on paper, victimisation for a good-faith complaint is prohibited.

01

Keep your own evidence

Photograph your SEA, pay accounts, rest records, and the A2.5.2 / A4.2 financial-security certificates posted on board. Keep copies off the ship, with family or in personal cloud storage.

02

Go outside the chain

ITF inspector or affiliated union, a Mission to Seafarers chaplain or seafarer centre in port, the flag-state administration, or a confidential port-state MLC complaint when the ship calls.

03

Use your home-country lever

Filipino crew: the DMW (formerly POEA) — fee bans, the standard contract, and agency liability travel with you. Never pay a placement fee, whatever it is called.

Day-one checklist — photograph these

  • 1Your signed SEA — wages or formula, paid leave, notice (minimum 7 days), repatriation entitlement, CBA reference.
  • 2The posted table of shipboard working arrangements and your first rest-record copy.
  • 3Financial-security certificates for abandonment (A2.5.2) and shipowner liability (A4.2) — posted in a conspicuous place, in English and the working language.
  • 4The Maritime Labour Certificate + DMLC Parts I & II — what your flag requires and how the owner says it complies.
  • 5The onboard complaint procedure — you must be given a copy. Note the external routes alongside it.
  • 6Your exact crew Wi-Fi allowance and your guaranteed pay floor — in writing, not a recruiter's promise.

Stand with crew — the pledge

For crew, former crew, passengers, and supporters. Copy it, post it, send it to your line. No sign-up, no list kept here.

I stand with One Crew One Voice and cruise crew on every line: free Wi-Fi to talk to family, honest time cards, a full day off, pay in writing before signing, a cabin you can sleep in, and no blacklist for speaking up. Every ship. Every line. One crew, one voice.