C176 - Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995

Preamble

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Eighty-Second Session on 6 June 1995, and

Noting the relevant International Labour Conventions and Recommendations and, in particular, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957; the Radiation Protection Convention and Recommendation, 1960; the Guarding of Machinery Convention and Recommendation, 1963; the Employment Injury Benefits Convention and Recommendation, 1964; the Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention and Recommendation, 1965; the Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work) Convention, 1965; the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention and Recommendation, 1977; the Occupational Safety and Health Convention and Recommendation, 1981; the Occupational Health Services Convention and Recommendation, 1985; the Asbestos Convention and Recommendation, 1986; the Safety and Health in Construction Convention and Recommendation, 1988; the Chemicals Convention and Recommendation, 1990; and the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention and Recommendation, 1993, and

Considering that workers have a need for, and a right to, information, training and genuine consultation on and participation in the preparation and implementation of safety and health measures concerning the hazards and risks they face in the mining industry, and

Recognizing that it is desirable to prevent any fatalities, injuries or ill health affecting workers or members of the public, or damage to the environment arising from mining operations, and

Having regard to the need for cooperation between the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other relevant institutions and noting the relevant instruments, codes of practice, codes and guidelines issued by these organizations, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to safety and health in mines, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention;

adopts this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-five the following Convention, which may be cited as the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995:

PART I. DEFINITIONS

Article 1

1. 1. For the purpose of this Convention, the term mine covers -
   • (a) surface or underground sites where the following activities, in particular, take place:
     • (i) exploration for minerals, excluding oil and gas, that involves the mechanical disturbance of the ground;
     • (ii) extraction of minerals, excluding oil and gas;
     • (iii) preparation, including crushing, grinding, concentration or washing of the extracted material; and
   • (b) all machinery, equipment, appliances, plant, buildings and civil engineering structures used in conjunction with the activities referred to in (a) above.
2. 2. For the purpose of this Convention, the term employer means any physical or legal person who employs one or more workers in a mine and, as the context requires, the operator, the principal contractor, contractor or subcontractor.

PART II. SCOPE AND MEANS OF APPLICATION

Article 2

1. 1. This Convention applies to all mines.
2. 2. After consultations with the most representative organizations of employers and workers concerned, the competent authority of a Member which ratifies the Convention:
   • (a) may exclude certain categories of mines from the application of the Convention, or certain provisions thereof, if the overall protection afforded at these mines under national law and practice is not inferior to that which would result from the full application of the provisions of the Convention;
   • (b) shall, in the case of exclusion of certain categories of mines pursuant to clause (a) above, make plans for progressively covering all mines.
3. 3. A Member which ratifies the Convention and avails itself of the possibility afforded in paragraph 2(a) above shall indicate, in its reports on the application of the Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, any particular category of mines thus excluded and the reasons for the exclusion.

Article 3

In the light of national conditions and practice and after consultations with the most representative organizations of employers and workers concerned, the Member shall formulate, carry out and periodically review a coherent policy on safety and health in mines, particularly with regard to the measures to give effect to the provisions of the Convention.

Article 4

1. 1. The measures for ensuring application of the Convention shall be prescribed by national laws and regulations.
2. 2. Where appropriate, these national laws and regulations shall be supplemented by:
   • (a) technical standards, guidelines or codes of practice; or
   • (b) other means of application consistent with national practice,

as identified by the competent authority.

Article 5

1. 1. National laws and regulations pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 1, shall designate the competent authority that is to monitor and regulate the various aspects of safety and health in mines.
2. 2. Such national laws and regulations shall provide for:
   • (a) the supervision of safety and health in mines;
   • (b) the inspection of mines by inspectors designated for the purpose by the competent authority;
   • (c) the procedures for reporting and investigating fatal and serious accidents, dangerous occurrences and mine disasters, each as defined by national laws or regulations;
   • (d) the compilation and publication of statistics on accidents, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, each as defined by national laws or regulations;
   • (e) the power of the competent authority to suspend or restrict mining activities on safety and health grounds, until the condition giving rise to the suspension or restriction has been corrected; and
   • (f) the establishment of effective procedures to ensure the implementation of the rights of workers and their representatives to be consulted on matters and to participate in measures relating to safety and health at the workplace.
3. 3. Such national laws and regulations shall provide that the manufacture, storage, transport and use of explosives and initiating devices at the mine shall be carried out by or under the direct supervision of competent and authorized persons.
4. 4. Such national laws and regulations shall specify:
   • (a) requirements relating to mine rescue, first aid and appropriate medical facilities;
   • (b) an obligation to provide and maintain adequate self-rescue respiratory devices for workers in underground coal mines and, where necessary, in other underground mines;
   • (c) protective measures to secure abandoned mine workings so as to eliminate or minimize risks to safety and health;
   • (d) requirements for the safe storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous substances used in the mining process and waste produced at the mine; and
   • (e) where appropriate, an obligation to supply sufficient sanitary conveniences and facilities to wash, change and eat, and to maintain them in hygienic condition.
5. 5. Such national laws and regulations shall provide that the employer in charge of the mine shall ensure that appropriate plans of workings are prepared before the start of operation and, in the event of any significant modification, that such plans are brought up to date periodically and kept available at the mine site.

PART III. PREVENTIVE AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES AT THE MINE

A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYERS

Article 6

In taking preventive and protective measures under this Part of the Convention the employer shall assess the risk and deal with it in the following order of priority:

• (a) eliminate the risk;
• (b) control the risk at source;
• (c) minimize the risk by means that include the design of safe work systems; and
• (d) in so far as the risk remains, provide for the use of personal protective equipment,

having regard to what is reasonable, practicable and feasible, and to good practice and the exercise of due diligence.

Article 7

Employers shall take all necessary measures to eliminate or minimize the risks to safety and health in mines under their control, and in particular:

• (a) ensure that the mine is designed, constructed and provided with electrical, mechanical and other equipment, including a communication system, to provide conditions for safe operation and a healthy working environment;
• (b) ensure that the mine is commissioned, operated, maintained and decommissioned in such a way that workers can perform the work assigned to them without endangering their safety and health or that of other persons;
• (c) take steps to maintain the stability of the ground in areas to which persons have access in the context of their work;
• (d) whenever practicable, provide, from every underground workplace, two exits, each of which is connected to separate means of egress to the surface;
• (e) ensure the monitoring, assessment and regular inspection of the working environment to identify the various hazards to which the workers may be exposed and to assess their level of exposure;
• (f) ensure adequate ventilation for all underground workings to which access is permitted;
• (g) in respect of zones susceptible to particular hazards, draw up and implement an operating plan and procedures to ensure a safe system of work and the protection of workers;
• (h) take measures and precautions appropriate to the nature of a mine operation to prevent, detect and combat the start and spread of fires and explosions; and
• (i) ensure that when there is serious danger to the safety and health of workers, operations are stopped and workers are evacuated to a safe location.

Article 8

The employer shall prepare an emergency response plan, specific to each mine, for reasonably foreseeable industrial and natural disasters.

Article 9

Where workers are exposed to physical, chemical or biological hazards the employer shall:

• (a) inform the workers, in a comprehensible manner, of the hazards associated with their work, the health risks involved and relevant preventive and protective measures;
• (b) take appropriate measures to eliminate or minimize the risks resulting from exposure to those hazards;
• (c) where adequate protection against risk of accident or injury to health including exposure to adverse conditions cannot be ensured by other means, provide and maintain at no cost to the worker suitable protective equipment, clothing as necessary and other facilities defined by national laws or regulations; and
• (d) provide workers who have suffered from an injury or illness at the workplace with first aid, appropriate transportation from the workplace and access to appropriate medical facilities.

Article 10

The employer shall ensure that:

• (a) adequate training and retraining programmes and comprehensible instructions are provided for workers, at no cost to them, on safety and health matters as well as on the work assigned;
• (b) in accordance with national laws and regulations, adequate supervision and control are provided on each shift to secure the safe operation of the mine;
• (c) a system is established so that the names of all persons who are underground can be accurately known at any time, as well as their probable location;
• (d) all accidents and dangerous occurrences, as defined by national laws or regulations, are investigated and appropriate remedial action is taken; and
• (e) a report, as specified by national laws and regulations, is made to the competent authority on accidents and dangerous occurrences.

Article 11

On the basis of general principles of occupational health and in accordance with national laws and regulations, the employer shall ensure the provision of regular health surveillance of workers exposed to occupational health hazards specific to mining.

Article 12

Whenever two or more employers undertake activities at the same mine, the employer in charge of the mine shall coordinate the implementation of all measures concerning the safety and health of workers and shall be held primarily responsible for the safety of the operations. This shall not relieve individual employers from responsibility for the implementation of all measures concerning the safety and health of their workers.

B. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF WORKERS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES

Article 13

1. 1. Under the national laws and regulations referred to in Article 4, workers shall have the following rights:
   • (a) to report accidents, dangerous occurrences and hazards to the employer and to the competent authority;
   • (b) to request and obtain, where there is cause for concern on safety and health grounds, inspections and investigations to be conducted by the employer and the competent authority;
   • (c) to know and be informed of workplace hazards that may affect their safety or health;
   • (d) to obtain information relevant to their safety or health, held by the employer or the competent authority;
   • (e) to remove themselves from any location at the mine when circumstances arise which appear, with reasonable justification, to pose a serious danger to their safety or health; and
   • (f) to collectively select safety and health representatives.
2. 2. The safety and health representatives referred to in paragraph 1(f) above shall, in accordance with national laws and regulations, have the following rights:
   • (a) to represent workers on all aspects of workplace safety and health, including where applicable, the exercise of the rights provided in paragraph 1 above;
   • (b) to:
     • (i) participate in inspections and investigations conducted by the employer and by the competent authority at the workplace; and
     • (ii) monitor and investigate safety and health matters;
   • (c) to have recourse to advisers and independent experts;
   • (d) to consult with the employer in a timely fashion on safety and health matters, including policies and procedures;
   • (e) to consult with the competent authority; and
   • (f) to receive, relevant to the area for which they have been selected, notice of accidents and dangerous occurrences.
3. 3. Procedures for the exercise of the rights referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be specified:
   • (a) by national laws and regulations; and
   • (b) through consultations between employers and workers and their representatives.
4. 4. National laws and regulations shall ensure that the rights referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above can be exercised without discrimination or retaliation.

Article 14

Under national laws and regulations, workers shall have the duty, in accordance with their training:

• (a) to comply with prescribed safety and health measures;
• (b) to take reasonable care for their own safety and health and that of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work, including the proper care and use of protective clothing, facilities and equipment placed at their disposal for this purpose;
• (c) to report forthwith to their immediate supervisor any situation which they believe could present a risk to their safety or health or that of other persons, and which they cannot properly deal with themselves; and
• (d) to cooperate with the employer to permit compliance with the duties and responsibilities placed on the employer pursuant to the Convention.

C. COOPERATION

Article 15

Measures shall be taken, in accordance with national laws and regulations, to encourage cooperation between employers and workers and their representatives to promote safety and health in mines.

PART IV. IMPLEMENTATION

Article 16

The Member shall:

• (a) take all necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate penalties and corrective measures, to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Convention; and
• (b) provide appropriate inspection services to supervise the application of the measures to be taken in pursuance of the Convention and provide these services with the resources necessary for the accomplishment of their tasks.

PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 17

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Article 18

1. 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
2. 2. It shall come into force 12 months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member 12 months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.

Article 19

1. 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.

Article 20

1. 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated by the Members of the Organization.
2. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration of the second ratification, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention shall come into force.

Article 21

The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration in accordance with article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by the Director-General in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.

Article 22

At such times as it may consider necessary, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

Article 23

1. 1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides -
   • (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 19 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
   • (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. 2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

Article 24

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.

C177 - Home Work Convention, 1996

Preamble

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Eighty-third Session on 4 June 1996, and

Recalling that many international labour Conventions and Recommendations laying down standards of general application concerning working conditions are applicable to homeworkers, and

Noting that the particular conditions characterizing home work make it desirable to improve the application of those Conventions and Recommendations to homeworkers, and to supplement them by standards which take into account the special characteristics of home work, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to home work, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention;

adopts, this twentieth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six, the following Convention, which may be cited as the Home Work Convention, 1996:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Convention:

• (a) the term home work means work carried out by a person, to be referred to as a homeworker,
  • (i) in his or her home or in other premises of his or her choice, other than the workplace of the employer;
  • (ii) for remuneration;
  • (iii) which results in a product or service as specified by the employer, irrespective of who provides the equipment, materials or other inputs used,

unless this person has the degree of autonomy and of economic independence necessary to be considered an independent worker under national laws, regulations or court decisions;

• (b) persons with employee status do not become homeworkers within the meaning of this Convention simply by occasionally performing their work as employees at home, rather than at their usual workplaces;
• (c) the term employer means a person, natural or legal, who, either directly or through an intermediary, whether or not intermediaries are provided for in national legislation, gives out home work in pursuance of his or her business activity.

Article 2

This Convention applies to all persons carrying out home work within the meaning of Article 1.

Article 3

Each Member which has ratified this Convention shall adopt, implement and periodically review a national policy on home work aimed at improving the situation of homeworkers, in consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers and, where they exist, with organizations concerned with homeworkers and those of employers of homeworkers.

Article 4

1. 1. The national policy on home work shall promote, as far as possible, equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners, taking into account the special characteristics of home work and, where appropriate, conditions applicable to the same or a similar type of work carried out in an enterprise.
2. 2. Equality of treatment shall be promoted, in particular, in relation to:
   • (a) the homeworkers' right to establish or join organizations of their own choosing and to participate in the activities of such organizations;
   • (b) protection against discrimination in employment and occupation;
   • (c) protection in the field of occupational safety and health;
   • (d) remuneration;
   • (e) statutory social security protection;
   • (f) access to training;
   • (g) minimum age for admission to employment or work; and
   • (h) maternity protection.

Article 5

The national policy on home work shall be implemented by means of laws and regulations, collective agreements, arbitration awards or in any other appropriate manner consistent with national practice.

Article 6

Appropriate measures shall be taken so that labour statistics include, to the extent possible, home work.

Article 7

National laws and regulations on safety and health at work shall apply to home work, taking account of its special characteristics, and shall establish conditions under which certain types of work and the use of certain substances may be prohibited in home work for reasons of safety and health.

Article 8

Where the use of intermediaries in home work is permitted, the respective responsibilities of employers and intermediaries shall be determined by laws and regulations or by court decisions, in accordance with national practice.

Article 9

1. 1. A system of inspection consistent with national law and practice shall ensure compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to home work.
2. 2. Adequate remedies, including penalties where appropriate, in case of violation of these laws and regulations shall be provided for and effectively applied.

Article 10

This Convention does not affect more favourable provisions applicable to homeworkers under other international labour Conventions.

Article 11

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Article 12

1. 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
2. 2. It shall come into force 12 months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member 12 months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.

Article 13

1. 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.

Article 14

1. 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated by the Members of the Organization.
2. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration of the second ratification, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention shall come into force.

Article 15

The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration in accordance with article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by the Director-General in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.

Article 16

At such times as it may consider necessary, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

Article 17

1. 1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides -
   • (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 13 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
   • (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. 2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

Article 18

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.

C178 - Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996

 [Withdrawn instrument - By decision of the International Labour Conference at its 111th Session (2023)]

Preamble

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office and having met in its Eighty-fourth Session on 8 October 1996, and

Noting the changes in the nature of the shipping industry and, as a consequence thereof, the changes in seafarers' working and living conditions since the Labour Inspection (Seamen) Recommendation, 1926, was adopted, and

Recalling the provisions of the Labour Inspection Convention and Recommendation, 1947, the Labour Inspection (Mining and Transport) Recommendation, 1947, and the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976, and

Recalling the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, on 16 November 1994, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the revision of the Labour Inspection (Seamen) Recommendation, 1926, which is the first item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention for flag State implementation only;

adopts, this twenty-second day of October of the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six, the following Convention, which may be cited as the Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996:

PART I. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

1. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, this Convention applies to every seagoing ship, whether publicly or privately owned, which is registered in the territory of a Member for which the Convention is in force and is engaged in the transport of cargo or passengers for the purpose of trade or is employed for any other commercial purpose. For the purpose of this Convention, a ship that is on the register of two Members is deemed to be registered in the territory of the Member whose flag it flies.
2. 2. National laws or regulations shall determine which ships are to be regarded as seagoing ships for the purpose of this Convention.
3. 3. This Convention applies to seagoing tugs.
4. 4. This Convention does not apply to vessels less than 500 gross tonnage and, when not engaged in navigation, vessels such as oil rigs and drilling platforms. The decision as to which vessels are covered by this paragraph shall be taken by the central coordinating authority in consultation with the most representative organizations of shipowners and seafarers.
5. 5. To the extent the central coordinating authority deems it practicable, after consulting the representative organizations of fishing vessel owners and fishermen, the provisions of this Convention shall apply to commercial maritime fishing vessels.
6. 6. In the event of any doubt as to whether or not any ships are to be regarded as engaged in commercial maritime operations or commercial maritime fishing for the purpose of this Convention, the question shall be determined by the central coordinating authority after consulting the organizations of shipowners, seafarers and fishermen concerned.
7. 7. For the purpose of this Convention:
   • (a) the term central coordinating authority means ministers, government departments or other public authorities having power to issue and supervise the implementation of regulations, orders or other instructions having the force of law in respect of inspection of seafarers' working and living conditions in relation to any ship registered in the territory of the Member;
   • (b) the term inspector means any civil servant or other public official with responsibility for inspecting any aspect of seafarers' working and living conditions, as well as any other person holding proper credentials performing an inspection for an institution or organization authorized by the central coordinating authority in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 3;
   • (c) the term legal provisions includes, in addition to laws and regulations, arbitration awards and collective agreements upon which the force of law is conferred;
   • (d) the term seafarers means persons who are employed in any capacity on board a seagoing ship to which the Convention applies. In the event of any doubt as to whether any categories of persons are to be regarded as seafarers for the purpose of this Convention, the question shall be determined by the central coordinating authority after consulting the organizations of shipowners and seafarers concerned;
   • (e) the term seafarers' working and living conditions means the conditions such as those relating to the standards of maintenance and cleanliness of shipboard living and working areas, minimum age, articles of agreement, food and catering, crew accommodation, recruitment, manning, qualifications, hours of work, medical examinations, prevention of occupational accidents, medical care, sickness and injury benefits, social welfare and related matters, repatriation, terms and conditions of employment which are subject to national laws and regulations, and freedom of association as defined in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, of the International Labour Organization.

PART II. ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION

Article 2

1. 1. Each Member for which the Convention is in force shall maintain a system of inspection of seafarers' working and living conditions.
2. 2. The central coordinating authority shall coordinate inspections wholly or partly concerned with seafarers' working and living conditions and shall establish principles to be observed.
3. 3. The central coordinating authority shall in all cases be responsible for the inspection of seafarers' working and living conditions. It may authorize public institutions or other organizations it recognizes as competent and independent to carry out inspections of seafarers' working and living conditions on its behalf. It shall maintain and make publicly available a list of such institutions or organizations.

Article 3

1. 1. Each Member shall ensure that all ships registered in its territory are inspected at intervals not exceeding three years and, when practicable, annually, to verify that the seafarers' working and living conditions on board conform to national laws and regulations.
2. 2. If a Member receives a complaint or obtains evidence that a ship registered in its territory does not conform to national laws and regulations in respect of seafarers' working and living conditions, the Member shall take measures to inspect the ship as soon as practicable.
3. 3. In cases of substantial changes in construction or accommodation arrangements, the ship shall be inspected within three months of such changes.

Article 4

Each Member shall appoint inspectors qualified for the performance of their duties and shall take the necessary steps to satisfy itself that inspectors are available in sufficient number to meet the requirements of this Convention.

Article 5

1. 1. Inspectors shall have the status and conditions of service to ensure that they are independent of changes of government and of improper external influences.
2. 2. Inspectors provided with proper credentials shall be empowered:
   • (a) to board a ship registered in the territory of the Member and to enter premises as necessary for inspection;
   • (b) to carry out any examination, test or inquiry which they may consider necessary in order to satisfy themselves that the legal provisions are being strictly observed;
   • (c) to require that deficiencies are remedied; and
   • (d) where they have grounds to believe that a deficiency constitutes a significant danger to seafarers' health and safety, to prohibit, subject to any right of appeal to a judicial or administrative authority, a ship from leaving port until necessary measures are taken, the ship not being unreasonably detained or delayed.

Article 6

1. 1. When an inspection is conducted or when measures are taken under this Convention, all reasonable efforts shall be made to avoid a ship being unreasonably detained or delayed.
2. 2. If a ship is unreasonably detained or delayed, the shipowner or operator of the ship shall be entitled to compensation for any loss or damage suffered. In any instance of alleged unreasonable detention or delay, the burden of proof shall lie with the shipowner or operator of the ship.

PART III. PENALTIES

Article 7

1. 1. Adequate penalties for violations of the legal provisions enforceable by inspectors and for obstructing inspectors in the performance of their duties shall be provided for by national laws or regulations and shall be effectively enforced.
2. 2. Inspectors shall have the discretion to give warnings and advice instead of instituting or recommending proceedings.

PART IV. REPORTS

Article 8

1. 1. The central coordinating authority shall maintain records of inspections of seafarers' working and living conditions.
2. 2. It shall publish an annual report on inspection activities, including a list of institutions and organizations authorized to carry out inspections on its behalf. This report shall be published within a reasonable time after the end of the year to which it relates and in any case within six months.

Article 9

1. 1. Inspectors shall submit a report of each inspection to the central coordinating authority. One copy of the report in English or in the working language of the ship shall be furnished to the master of the ship and another copy shall be posted on the ship's notice board for the information of the seafarers or sent to their representatives.
2. 2. In case of an inspection pursuant to a major incident, the report shall be submitted as soon as practicable but not later than one month following the conclusion of the inspection.

PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 10

This Convention supersedes the Labour Inspection (Seamen) Recommendation, 1926.

Article 11

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Article 12

1. 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
2. 2. It shall come into force 12 months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General
3. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member 12 months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.

Article 13

1. 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.

Article 14

1. 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated by the Members of the Organization.
2. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration of the second ratification, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention shall come into force.

Article 15

The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by the Director-General in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.

Article 16

At such times as it may consider necessary, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

Article 17

1. 1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides -
   • (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 13 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
   • (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. 2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

Article 18

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.