Below are some of the important provisions from Title 2. Conditions of employment. Seafarers' Employment Agreements (Regulation 2.1) A seafarer's employment agreement (SEA) is defined in the MLC, 2006 as including both a contract of employment and articles of agreement (Article II, 1g).  However, Regulation 2.1.1 simply states that the employment of a seafarer shall be set out in a "clear written legally enforceable agreement" that must be consistent with "the standards set out in the Code", notwithstanding that there might be various legal systems, practices and formats as required under national law or practice. A copy of the SEA has to be available on board and accessible for review by officers of a competent authority, including Port State Control officers. (A2.1.1d), No original needs to be on board unless national laws concerned dictates otherwise. (ILO FAQ C2.1b). Nothing in the MLC, 2006, as currently drafted, would prevent national administrations from authorizing the creation and storage of SEAs in electronic format. Nonetheless, the use of electronic SEAs should not in any manner weaken the obligations under Standard A2.1, including the fact that the shipowner and seafarer concerned shall each have a signed original of the seafarers’ employment agreement nor render more cumbersome the access of inspectors to such documents. Where a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) forms all or part of a SEA, a copy of that agreement has to be available on board ( A2.1.2). Take note that even if the SEA contains no clear statement incorporating a CBA, it shall be understood to incorporate such if this is compatible with the flag State's law and practice. (Regulation 2.1.3, ILO/FAQ C2.1c)  Seafarers who are self-employed, i.e, not employees, are not required to have a SEA. But in accordance with Standard A2.1.1a , evidence of contractual or similar arrangements "providing the seafarers with decent working and living conditions on board" as required by the MLC,2006.  Seafarers shall be given a document containing a record of employment on board the ship (A2.1.1e). The MLC, 2006 does not provide the form of this document which shall be determined by national law but it does provide what it shall not contain: no statement as to the quality of the seafarer's work or as to the wages. (A2.1.3)  The MLC, 2006 does not set a maximum period for a contract of employment. In fact Standard A2.1 envisages SEAs of an indefinite period. However, the duration of a SEA and the maximum period of continuous service on board are two different concepts. The interaction between the right of a seafarer to be repatriated after a maximum period of service on board (a period less than 12 months) under Standard A2.5.1 [see C2.5.1.a.] and the obligation of the flag State under Regulation 2.4 and the Code to require that seafarers be given the minimum paid annual leave [see C2.4.a.] establishes limitations on the period of continuous service on board a ship or ships, which should be, in principle, of 11 months. The specific limits will include questions such as whether the competent authority has decided in some specific cases to permit seafarers to forgo their minimum paid annual leave [see C2.4.b.] Under the 2018 amendments to the MLC, 2006, Standard A2.1, paragraph 7, states that the SEA shall continue to have effect while a seafarer is held captive on or off the ship as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, regardless of whether the date fixed for its expiry has passed or either party has given notice to suspend or terminate it. The MLC,2006 does not specifically address this issue of which national laws should be reflected in the terms of the SEA; the law of the flag State or the law of the country where the SEA was signed or the law of a country identified in the SEA as it is a complex issue of international law and the legal practice of courts. Having said that, it is the flag State that has international legal responsibility to ensure that the SEA meets its standards implementing the MLC,2006; in particular specific responsibility for the working and living conditions for seafarers on board its ships.  Wages (Regulation 2.2)  The MLC, 2006 does not establish a mandatory minimum wage for seafarers and leaves it to the national law of the flag State to determine. However, the MLC,2006 does include the international procedure for establishing a minimum monthly basic pay or wage figure for able seafarers (see Guideline B2.2.4).  The maximum interval at which the seafarers receive their wages (to be set by the flag State or in an applicable CBA) and reflected in the SEA must be no longer than one month ( A2.2.1, ILO/FAQ C2.2b)  Whether costs should be charged to seafarers for sending wages to family members is a matter for flag State implementation. Notwithstanding, the costs must be reasonable in amount. (A2.2.5, ILO/FAQ C2.2c) Under the 2018 amendments to the MLC,2006, seafarers held captive as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships should continue to be paid their wages during the entire period of captivity and until the seafarer is released and duly repatriated or, where the seafarer dies while in captivity, until the date of death as determined in accordance with applicable national laws or regulations. Hours of Work and Hours of Rest (Regulation 2.3) Each country shall choose either one of the arrangements: fix a maximum number of hours of work that shall not be exceeded in a given period of time OR a minimum number of hours of rest which shall be provided in a given period of time. (A2.3.2) MLC, 2006 requires that the national standards take into account the danger posed by fatigue of seafarers especially those whose duties involve navigational safety and the safe and secure operation of the ship and hence the limits on hours of work or rest shall cover the following: (a) Maximum hours of work shall not exceed (i) 14 hours in any 24-hour period; and (ii) 72 hours in any 7-day period. OR (b) Minimum hours of rest shall not be less than (i) 10 hours in any 24-hour period; and (ii) 77 hours in any 7-day period. (A2.3.5) Hours of rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods; one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length, and the interval between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours. (A2.3.6) A '24-hour period' is not defined in the MLC, 2006 but since A2.3.5b states that hours of rest must not be less than 10 hours "in any 24-hour period", then it is interpreted that any 24-hour period - starting at any moment during a day must comprise at least 10 hours of rest. (A2.3.6) Note that there are exceptions to the hours of rest or work standards. Flag States can under their national laws or regulations or a procedure for the competent authority to...

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