Seafarers will soon enjoy a higher minimum monthly basic wage after a resolution was agreed between the International Labour Union and (ILO) and a subcommittee of the Joint Maritime Commission (JMC).
The agreed basic minimum wage for an able seafarer will be raised annually: to US$658 from 1 January 2023; to US$666 from 1 January 2024; and to US$673 beginning 2025. It was also agreed that the basis for wage recalculation and discussion in 2025 will be US$673.
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) provides that the basic pay or wages of an able seafarer for a calendar month of service should be no less than the amount periodically set by the JMC or another body authorized by the Governing Body of the ILO.
The MLC, 2006 , known as the ‘seafarers’ bill of rights’, entered into force on 20 August 2013, and has been ratified by 101 ILO member States , representing 96.6 per cent of world shipping tonnage.
The Joint Maritime Commission is the only permanent bipartite standing body of the ILO. It dates back to 1920 and is composed of shipowner and seafarer representatives from across the globe.
