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Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) - Gabon (RATIFICATION: 2014)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

The Committee notes with deep regret that the Government has failed to submit its first report on the application of the Convention for the fourth consecutive year. As the requested report has not been received, the Committee examined the application of the Convention on the basis of publicly available information.

Article I. General questions on application. Implementing measures. The Committee notes that the provisions of the Convention are mainly implemented through Regulation No. 08/12-UEAC-088-CM-23 of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) issuing the Community Merchant Shipping Code of 22 July 2012 (hereinafter, CCMM), which is directly applicable to Gabon and is one of the documents that must be carried on board ships flying the Gabonese flag and foreign ships operating in Gabonese territorial waters. The Committee also notes that section 1 of the Labour Code does not exclude seafarers from its scope of application. The Committee notes the lack of available information on the implementation of several provisions of the Convention. It recalls that, in conformity with Article I of the Convention, each Member which ratifies it undertakes to give complete effect to its provisions in order to secure the right of all seafarers to decent employment. The Committee therefore requests the Government to adopt without delay the necessary measures to implement the Convention, taking into account the matters raised in the request addressed directly to the Government. It further requests the Government to provide a copy of any legislative texts or other regulatory instruments once adopted, as well as full information on the implementation of the Convention, including updated statistics on the number of seafarers who are nationals or residents of Gabon or who work on ships that fly the Gabonese flag. The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.