1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/63/EC
of 21 June 1999
concerning the Agreement on the organisation of working time of seafarers concluded by the
European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers'
Unions in the European Union (FST)
(OJ L 167, 2.7.1999, p. 33)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 244, 16.9.1999, p. 64 (1999/63/EC)
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/63/EC
of 21 June 1999
concerning the Agreement on the organisation of working time of
seafarers concluded by the European Community Shipowners'Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers'
Unions in the European Union (FST)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and,in particular Article 139(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1)following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, the
provisions of the Agreement on social policy annexed to theProtocol 14 on social policy, annexed to the Treaty establishingthe European Community, as amended by the Treaty ofMaastricht, have been incorporated into Articles 136 to 139 of
the Treaty establishing the European Community;
(2)management and labour (‘the social partners’), may in accordancewith Article 139(2) of the Treaty, request jointly that agreements
at Community level be implemented by a Council decision on aproposal from the Commission;
(3)the Council adopted Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time(
1);
whereas sea transport was one of the sectors of activity excludedfrom the scope of that Directive;
(4)account should be taken of the relevant Conventions of theInternational Labour Organisation with regard to the organisation
of working time, including in particular those relating to the hours
of work of seafarers;
(5)the Commission, in accordance with Article 3(2) of theAgreement on social policy, has consulted management andlabour on the possible direction of Community action with regardto the sectors and activities excluded from Directive 93/104/EC;
(6)after that consultation the Commission considered that Commu-nity action was desirable in that area, and once again consultedmanagement and labour at Community level on the substance of
the envisaged proposal in accordance with Article 3(3) of the said
Agreement;
(7)the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) andthe Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the EuropeanUnion (FST) informed the Commission of their desire to enterinto negotiations in accordance with Article 4 of the Agreementon social policy;
(8)the said organisations concluded, on 30 September 1998, anAgreement on the working time of seafarers; this Agreement
contains a joint request to the Commission to implement the
Agreement by a Council decision on a proposal from theCommission, in accordance with Article 4(2) of the Agreementon social policy;
(9)the Council, in its resolution of 6 December 1994 on certainaspects for a European Union social policy: a contribution toeconomic and social convergence in the Union(
2) asked manage-
ment and labour to make use of the opportunities for concluding
agreements, since they are close to social reality and to socialproblems;1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18.
(2) OJ C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 6.
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(10)the Agreement applies to seafarers on board every seagoing ship,
whether publicly or privately owned, which is registered in the
territory of any Member State and is ordinarily engaged incommercial maritime operations;
(11)the proper instrument for implementing the Agreement is a
Directive within the meaning of Article 249 of the Treaty; it
therefore binds the Member States as to the result to be achieved,whilst leaving national authorities the choice of form andmethods;
(12)in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportion-ality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the objectives of thisDirective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member Statesand can therefore be better achieved by the Community; thisDirective does not go beyond what is necessary for the attainmentof those objectives;
(13)with regard to terms used in the Agreement which are notspecifically defined therein, this Directive leaves Member Statesfree to define those terms in accordance with national law andpractice, as is the case for other social policy Directives using
similar terms, providing that those definitions respect the content
of the Agreement;
(14)the Commission has drafted its proposal for a Directive, inaccordance with its communication of 20 May 1998 on adapting
and promoting the social dialogue at Community level, taking
into account the representative status of the signatory parties andthe legality of each clause of the Agreement;
(15)the Commission informed the European Parliament and the
Economic and Social Committee, in accordance with its
communication of 14 December 1993 concerning the applicationof the Agreement on social policy, by sending them the text of itsproposal for a Directive containing the Agreement;
(16)the implementation of the Agreement contributes to achieving theobjectives under Article 136 of the Treaty,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
The purpose of this Directive is to put into effect the Agreement on the
organisation of working time of seafarers concluded on 30 September
1998 between the organisations representing management and labour inthe maritime sector (ECSA and FST) as set out in the Annex hereto.
Article 2
Minimum requirements
1. Member States may maintain or introduce more favourable
provisions than those laid down in this Directive.
2. The implementation of this Directive shall under no circumstances
constitute sufficient grounds for justifying a reduction in the generallevel of protection of workers in the fields covered by this Directive.This shall be without prejudice to the rights of Member States and/or
management and labour to lay down, in the light of changing
circumstances, different legislative, regulatory or contractual arrange-ments to those prevailing at the time of the adoption of this Directive,provided always that the minimum requirements laid down in thisDirective are adhered to.
Article 3
Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 30June 2002, or shall ensure that, by that date at the latest, management1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 3
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and labour have introduced the necessary measures by agreement, the
Member States being required to take any necessary measure to enablethem at any time to be in a position to guarantee the results imposed by
this Directive. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. When Member States adopt the provisions referred to in the first
paragraph, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall beaccompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication.The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by theMember States.
Article 4
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 4
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ANNEX
EUROPEAN AGREEMENT
on the organisation of working time of seafarers
Having regard to the Agreement on social policy annexed to the Protocol on
social policy attached to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in
particular Articles 3(4) and 4(2) thereof;
Whereas Article 4(2) of the Agreement on social policy provides that agreements
concluded at European level may be implemented at the joint request of the
signatory parties by a Council Decision on a proposal from the Commission;
Whereas the signatory parties hereby make such a request,
THE SIGNATORY PARTIES HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:
Clause 1
1. The Agreement applies to seafarers on board every seagoing ship,
whether publicly or privately owned, which is registered in the
territory of any Member State and is ordinarily engaged in
commercial maritime operations. For the purpose of this Agreementa ship that is on the register of two States is deemed to be registeredin the territory of the State whose flag it flies.
2. In the event of doubt as to whether or not any ships are to be regarded
as seagoing ships or engaged in commercial maritime operations forthe purpose of the Agreement, the question shall be determined bythe competent authority of the Member State. The organisations ofshipowners and seafarers concerned should be consulted.
Clause 2
For the purpose of the Agreement:
(a) the term ‘hours of work’ means time during which a seafarer is
required to do work on account of the ship;
(b) the term ‘hours of rest’ means time outside hours of work; this term
does not include short breaks;
(c) the term ‘seafarer’ means any person who is employed or engaged in
any capacity on board a seagoing ship to which the Agreementapplies;
(d) the term ‘shipowner’ means the owner of the ship or any other
organisation or person, such as the manager or bareboat charterer,
who has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the shipfrom the shipowner and who on assuming such responsibility hasagreed to take over all the attendant duties and responsibilities.
Clause 3
Within the limits set out in Clause 5, there shall be fixed either a
maximum number of hours of work which shall not be exceeded in agiven period of time, or a minimum number or hours of rest which shall
be provided in a given period of time.
Clause 4
Without prejudice to Clause 5, the normal working hours' standard of
seafarer is, in principle, based on an eight-hour day with one day of restper week and rest on public holidays. Member States may haveprocedures to authorise or register a collective agreement whichdetermines seafarers' normal working hours on a basis on less favourablethan this standard.1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 5
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Clause 5
1. The limits on hours of work or rest shall be either:
(a) maximum hours of work which shall not exceed
(i) fourteen hours in any 24 hour period; and
(ii) 72 hours in any seven-day period;
or
(b) minimum hours of rest which shall not be less than:
(i) ten hours in any 24 hour period; and
(ii) 77 hours in any seven-day period.
2. Hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of
which shall be at least six hours in length and the interval between
consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours.
3. Musters, fire-fighting and lifeboat drills, and prescribed by national
laws and regulations and by international instruments shall beconducted in a manner that minimises the disturbance of rest periodsand does not induce fatigue.
4. In respect of situations when a seafarer is on call, such as when a
machinery space is unattended, the seafarer shall have an adequatecompensatory rest period if the normal period of rest is disturbed bycall-outs to work.
5. With regard to paragraphs 3 and 4, where no collective agreement or
arbitration award exists or if the competent authority determines thatthe provisions in the agreement or award are inadequate, it would befor the competent authority to determine such provisions to ensurethat the seafarers concerned have sufficient rest.
6. With due regard for the general principles of the protection of the
health and safety of workers, Member States may have national laws,regulations or a procedure for the competent authority to authorise orregister collective agreements permitting exceptions to the limits setout in paragraphs 1 and 2. Such exceptions shall, as far as possible,
follow the standards set out but may take account of more frequent or
longer leave periods, or the granting of compensatory leave forwatchkeeping seafarers or seafarers working on board ship on shortvoyages.
7. A table shall be posted, in an easily accessible place, with the
shipboard working arrangements, which shall contain for everyposition at least:
(a) the schedule of service at sea and service in port; and
(b) the maximum hours of work or the minimum hours of rest
required by the laws, regulations or collective agreements inforce in the Member States.
8. The table referred to in paragraph 7 shall be established in a
standardised format in the working language or languages of the shipand in English.
Clause 6
No seafarer under 18 years of age shall work at night. For the purpose of
this Clause, ‘night’ means a period of at least nine consecutive hours,including the interval from midnight to five a.m. This provision need notbe applied when the effective training of young seafarers between theages of 16 and 18 in accordance with established programmes andschedules would be impaired.1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 6
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Clause 7
1. The master of a ship shall have the right to require a seafarer to
perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate dafety of theship, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of givingassistance to other ships or persons in distress at sea.
2. In accordance with paragraph 1, the master may suspend the schedule
of hours of work or hours of rest and require a seafarer to performany hours of work necessary until the normal situation has beenrestored.
3. As soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored,
the master shall ensure that any seafarer who have performed work ina scheduled rest period are provided with an adequate period of rest.
Clause 8
1. Records of seafarers' daily hours of work or of their daily hours of
rest shall be maintained to allow monitoring of compliance with theprovisions set out in Clause 5. The seafarer shall receive a copy of therecords pertaining to him or her which shall be endorsed by themaster, or a person authorised by the master, and by the seafarer.
2. Procedures shall be determined for keeping such records on board,
including the intervals at which the information shall be recorded.The format of the records of the seafarers' hours of work or of theirhours of rest shall be established taking into account any available
international guidelines. The format shall be established in the
language provided by Clause 5, paragraph 8.
3. A copy of the relevant provisions of the national legislation
pertaining to this Agreement and the relevant collective agreements
shall be kept on board and be easily accessible to the crew.
Clause 9
The records referred to in Clause 8 shall be examined and endorsed at
appropriate intervals, to monitor compliance with the provisions
governing hours of work or hours of rest that give effect to this
Agreement.
Clause 10
1. When determining, approving or revising manning levels, it is
necessary to take into account the need to avoid or minimise, as fas aspracticable, excessive hours of work, to ensure sufficient rest and tolimit fatigue.
2. If the records or other evidence indicate infringement of provisions
governing hours of work or hours of rest, measures, including ifnecessary the revision of the manning of the ship, shall be taken so asto avoid future infringements.
3. All ships to which this Agreement applies shall be sufficiently, safely
and efficiently manned, in accordance with the minimum safemanning document or an equivalent issued by the competentauthority.
Clause 11
No person under 16 years of age shall work on a ship.
Clause 12
The shipowner shall provide the master with the necessary resources for
the purpose of compliance with obligations under this Agreement,including those relating to the appropriate manning of the ship. Themaster shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the requirements onseafarers' hours of work and rest arising from this Agreement arecomplied with.1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 7
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Clause 13
1. All seafarers shall possess a certificate attesting to their fitness for the
work or which they are to be employed at sea.
The nature of the health assessment to be made and the particulars to
be included in the medical certifcate shall be established after
consultation with the shipowners and seafarers organisationsconcerned.
All seafarers shall have regular health assessments. Watchkeepers
suffering from health problems certified by a medical practitioner asbeing due to the fact that they perform night work shall betransferred, wherever possible, to day work to which they are suited.
2. The health assessment referred to in paragraph 1 shall be free and
comply with medical confidentiality. Such health assessments may be
conducted within the national health system.
Clause 14
Shipowners shall provide information on watchkeepers and other night
workers to the national competent authority if they so request.
Clause 15
Seafarers shall have safety and health protection appropriate to the
nature of their work. Equivalent protection and prevention services orfacilities with regard to the safety and health of seafarers working by dayor by night shall be available.
Clause 16
Every seafarer shall be entitled to paid annual leave of at least four
weeks, or a proportion thereof for periods of employment of less thanone year, in accordance with the conditions for entitlement to, and
granting of, such leave laid down by national legislation and or/practice.
The minimum period of paid annual leave may not be replaced by an
allowance in lieu, except where the employment relationship isterminated.Brussels, 30 Septembre 1998.Federation of TransportWorkers' Unionsin the European Union (FST)European CommunityShipowners'Association (ECSA)1999L0063 — EN — 22.07.1999 — 000.001 — 8