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) - Annex: European Agreement on the organisation of working time of seafarers
Date: 1999-06-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: carrier, crew, interprofessional agreement, trade union, working time

2. 7. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 167/33

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)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

following the entry into force of the Treaty of
Amsterdam, the provisions of the Agreement on
social policy annexed to the Protocol 14 on social
policy, annexed to the Treaty establishing the
European Community, as amended by the Treaty
of Maastricht, have been incorporated into Articles
136 to 139 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community;

management and labour (‘the social partners'), may
in accordance with Article 139(2) of the Treaty,
request jointly that agreements at Community level
be implemented by a Council decision on a
proposal from the Commission;

the Council adopted Directive 93/104/EC of 23
November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the
organisation of working time (1); whereas sea trans-
port was one of the sectors of activity excluded
from the scope of that Directive;

account should be taken of the relevant Conven-
tions of the International Labour Organisation with
regard to the organisation of working time,
including in particular those relating to the hours
of work of seafarers;

the Commission, in accordance with Article 3(2) of
the Agreement on social policy, has consulted
management and labour on the possible direction
of Community action with regard to the sectors
and activities excluded from Directive 93/104/EC;

after that consultation the Commission considered
that Community action was desirable in that area,
and once again consulted management and labour
at Community level on the substance of the envis-
aged proposal in accordance with Article 3(3) of the
said Agreement;

the European Community Shipowners’ Association
(ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers’
Unions in the European Union (FST) informed the

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

Commission of their desire to enter into nego-
tiations in accordance with Article 4 of the Agree-
ment on social policy;

the said organisations concluded, on 30 September
1998, an Agreement 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 the Commis-
sion, in accordance with Article 4(2) of the Agree-
ment on social policy;

the Council, in its resolution of 6 December 1994
on certain aspects for a European Union social
policy: a contribution to economic and social
convergence in the Union (2) asked management
and labour to make use of the opportunities for
concluding agreements, since they are close to
social reality and to social problems;

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

instrument

the proper
implementing the
Agreement is a Directive within the meaning of
Article 249 of the Treaty; it therefore binds the
to be achieved,
Member States as to the result
whilst leaving national authorities the choice of
form and methods;

in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity
and proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the
Treaty, the objectives of this Directive cannot be
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can
therefore be better achieved by the Community;
this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary
for the attainment of those objectives;

with regard to terms used in the Agreement which
are not specifically defined therein, this Directive
leaves Member States free to define those terms in
accordance with national law and practice, as is the
case for other social policy Directives using similar
terms, providing that those definitions respect the
content of the Agreement;

(1) OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18.

(2) OJ C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 6.

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(14)

(15)

for a
the Commission has drafted its proposal
Directive, in accordance 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 and
the legality of each clause of the Agreement;

the Commission informed the European Parlia-
ment and the Economic and Social Committee, in
14
accordance with
December 1993 concerning the application of the
Agreement on social policy, by sending them the
text of its proposal for a Directive containing the
Agreement;

communication

its

of

(16)

the implementation of the Agreement contributes
to achieving the objectives 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 in the
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 general level of protection of workers in
the fields covered by this Directive. This shall be without

prejudice to the rights of Member States and/or manage-
ment and labour to lay down, in the light of changing
circumstances, different legislative, regulatory or contrac-
tual arrangements to those prevailing at the time of the
the
adoption of
minimum requirements laid down in this Directive are
adhered to.

this Directive, provided always that

Article 3

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu-
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
with this Directive by 30 June 2002, or shall ensure that,
by that date at the latest, management and labour have
introduced the necessary measures by agreement,
the
Member States being required to take any necessary
measure to enable them 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 be accompanied by such reference
at the time of their official publication. The methods of
making such reference shall be laid down by the Member
States.

Article 4

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Luxembourg, 21 June 1999.

For the Council

The President

L. SCHOMERUS

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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

number or hours of rest which shall be provided in a
given period of time.

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 Agreement a ship
that is on the register of two States is deemed to be
registered in 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 for the purpose of the
Agreement, the question shall be determined by the
competent authority of the Member State. The organ-
isations of shipowners and seafarers concerned should
be consulted.

Clause 2

For the purpose of the Agreement:

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 rest per week and rest on public
holidays. Member States may have procedures to authorise
register a collective agreement which determines
or
seafarers’ normal working hours on a basis on less favour-
able than this standard.

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;

(a) the term ‘hours of work' means time during which a
seafarer is required to do work on account of the ship;

or

(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 Agreement applies;

(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 responsi-
bility for the operation of the ship from the shipowner
and who on assuming such responsibility has agreed
to take over all the attendant duties and responsibil-
ities.

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 a given period of time, or a minimum

(b) minimum hours of rest which shall not be less

than:

(i) ten hours in any 24 hour period; and

(ii) 72 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 be conducted in a manner that mini-
mises the disturbance of rest periods and 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 adequate compensatory rest period if the
normal period of rest is disturbed by call-outs to work.

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arbitration award exists or

5. With regard to paragraphs 3 and 4, where no collective
agreement or
the
competent authority determines that the provisions in
the agreement or award are inadequate, it would be for
the competent authority to determine such provisions
to ensure that the seafarers concerned have sufficient
rest.

if

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 proce-
dure for
the competent authority to authorise or
register collective agreements permitting exceptions to
the limits set out in paragraphs 1 and 2. Such excep-
tions 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 for
watchkeeping seafarers or seafarers working on board
ship on short voyages.

7. A table shall be posted, in an easily accessible place,
with the shipboard working arrangements, which shall
contain for every position 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
in force in the Member
States.

8. The table referred to in paragraph 7 shall be estab-
in the working

lished in a standardised format
language or languages of the ship and 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 not be applied
when the effective training of young seafarers between the
ages of 16 and 18 in accordance with established
programmes and schedules would be impaired.

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 the ship, persons on board or
cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance 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 perform any hours of work
necessary until the normal situation has been restored.

3. As soon as practicable after the normal situation has
been restored, the master shall ensure that any seafarer
who have performed work in a scheduled rest period
are provided with an adequate period of rest.

Clause 8

rest

1. Records of seafarers’ daily hours of work or of their
shall be maintained to allow
daily hours of
monitoring of compliance with the provisions set out
in Clause 5. The seafarer shall receive a copy of the
records pertaining to him or her which shall be
endorsed by the master, 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
the
information shall be recorded. The format of
records of the seafarers’ hours of work or of their hours
of rest shall be established taking into account any
available international guidelines. The format shall be
established in the language provided by Clause 5, para-
graph 8.

3. A copy of the relevant provisions of the national legis-
lation 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 as practicable, excessive hours
of work, to ensure sufficient rest and to limit fatigue.

2. If the records or other evidence indicate infringement
of provisions governing hours of work or hours of rest,
measures, including if necessary the revision of the
manning of the ship, shall be taken so as to avoid
future infringements.

3. All ships to which this Agreement applies shall be
sufficiently, safely and efficiently manned, in accord-
ance with the minimum safe manning document or an
equivalent issued by the competent authority.

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Clause 11

No person under 16 years of age shall work on a ship.

Clause 12

The shipowner shall provide the master with the neces-
sary resources for the purpose of compliance with obliga-
tions under this Agreement, including those relating to
the appropriate manning of the ship. The master shall
take all necessary steps to ensure that the requirements on
seafarers’ hours of work and rest arising from this Agree-
ment are complied with.

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 ship-
owners and seafarers organisations concerned.

All seafarers shall have regular health assessments.
Watchkeepers suffering from health problems certified
by a medical practitioner as being due to the fact that
they perform night work shall be transferred, wherever
possible, to day work to which they are suited.

Brussels, 30 Septembre 1998.

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 appro-
priate to the nature of their work. Equivalent protection
and prevention services or facilities with regard to the
safety and health of seafarers working by day or 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 than one 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 is terminated.

Federation of Transport Workers’ Unions
in the European Union (FST)

European Community Shipowners’
Association (ECSA)