§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government how the British delegations voted at the ILO Conference on 29th October 1976 on the proposed Convention providing for minimum standards of employment and safety on merchant ships; what was the vote; and whether they will ratify the convention at the earliest possible moment.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, the United Kingdom delegates voted in favour. The vote was 160 in favour, none against and 67 abstentions. Ratification must be preceded by wide consultation to establish beyond doubt that the law and practice of the country are in complete conformity with the provisions of the Convention. In accordance with normal practice the Government's intentions in relation to all the instruments adopted by the Conference will be announced as soon as possible in a White Paper.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, while welcoming that Answer, may I ask the Minister whether he will confirm that this Convention deals with ships sailing under flags of convenience, which are often substandard and employ cheap labour? Would the noble Lord also say whether the Convention guarantees to sailors continuity of work and paid holidays, and that it ends racial discrimination on the issue of equal pay?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, I can confirm that the Convention provides minimum standards for the ships of all 970 countries and therefore would include the ships of convenience mentioned by my noble friend. I am afraid I do not have details of the Convention, but I can say that it deals mainly with two issues: the safety of the crew and the living conditions of the crew.
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARYLEBONEMy Lords, I wonder whether the noble Lord could tell me how far the minimum conditions imposed by the Convention are in advance of those already imposed by regulations on British flag vessels? My second question is: Supposing the countries involved in flags of convenience do not adhere to the Convention, what method of enforcing the standards of the Convention, if any, is available?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, I understand that the Convention is not more advanced than the conditions which have to prevail on our ships at the moment, but it contains a new feature for enforcement. If any ship is in port in a particular country and that country receives a complaint from the ship which relates to health or safety, after inspection the country by whom the complaint is received can immediately notify the country concerned and the ILO, and insist upon the matter being put right forthwith.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, following the question which was put by the noble and learned Lord, may I ask the Minister: Is it not very disturbing that there were 67 abstentions when this matter was considered, including, strangely, the East European countries?—although the Yugoslav trade union movement had the courage to vote against their Government. In these circumstances, if only ten ratifications are required for the Convention, can we, with our Western European Community partners, seek to get the Convention accepted on a much greater scale so that it may be enforced?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, we can always seek to do it, but experience has shown that it is not always easy when we are seeking to get the Eastern Europeans to do things. I can only say that we entirely agree with the Convention and shall use the whole of our influence to have it ratified by as many countries as possible.