The document discusses the consequences of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) for Norwegian shipping. Key points:
1) Norway has ratified the MLC, which establishes comprehensive global standards for seafarer working and living conditions to prevent social dumping.
2) Implementing the MLC in Norway will not lower existing national standards and protects the rights of Norwegian seafarers.
3) Shipowners will now be directly responsible for meeting MLC obligations, though costs of compliance are estimated to be modest.
4) Global enforcement of minimum standards through the MLC promotes fair competition between flag states and improved conditions for seafarers worldwide.
Marine medical examiners in Canada require specialized training to assess seafarers' medical fitness for work. The document discusses a training program for these examiners consisting of online modules covering topics like occupational health, diseases, and regulations. Upon completion, trainees will be certified to perform medical exams and issue medical certificates for Canadian seafarers.
The document discusses the development of a common training module for medical examiners of seafarers. It proposes establishing an international system for training, approving, and ensuring quality of medical examiners. This would help harmonize differing national standards. The initiative involves maritime authorities from several countries collaborating to develop a draft curriculum based on Norway's experience training "petroleum doctors". The goal is a common international approach and medical certificate accepted by all parties involved in seafarer medical examinations.
This document discusses quality assurance for medical examiners in maritime medicine. It outlines that an effective QA system should be tailored to maritime health, include external peer reviews, and be acceptable to all stakeholders. The current situation involves lists of approved doctors and some audit visits, but it is patchy and not standardized. The proposed solution is IMHA QUALITY, which would provide internationally agreed standards and peer reviews from trained assessors to give an unbiased assessment of clinics and enable continuous quality improvement. The key challenges to implementing this system include engaging different stakeholders and determining who bears the costs.
The International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) is committed to improving the health of seafarers through health protection, promotion, treatment, ethics-based research, and knowledge sharing. The IMHA aims to promote maritime safety, research, and coordination between stakeholders. Existing projects include international relations, a global membership, workshops on health topics, and working groups. The IMHA also partners with other organizations through memorandums of understanding to jointly address issues like HIV, piracy response, regional health programs, and improving seafarer welfare and information.
The document discusses the consequences of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) for Norwegian shipping. Key points:
1) Norway has ratified the MLC, which establishes comprehensive global standards for seafarer working and living conditions to prevent social dumping.
2) Implementing the MLC in Norway will not lower existing national standards and protects the rights of Norwegian seafarers.
3) Shipowners will now be directly responsible for meeting MLC obligations, though costs of compliance are estimated to be modest.
4) Global enforcement of minimum standards through the MLC promotes fair competition between flag states and improved conditions for seafarers worldwide.
Marine medical examiners in Canada require specialized training to assess seafarers' medical fitness for work. The document discusses a training program for these examiners consisting of online modules covering topics like occupational health, diseases, and regulations. Upon completion, trainees will be certified to perform medical exams and issue medical certificates for Canadian seafarers.
The document discusses the development of a common training module for medical examiners of seafarers. It proposes establishing an international system for training, approving, and ensuring quality of medical examiners. This would help harmonize differing national standards. The initiative involves maritime authorities from several countries collaborating to develop a draft curriculum based on Norway's experience training "petroleum doctors". The goal is a common international approach and medical certificate accepted by all parties involved in seafarer medical examinations.
This document discusses quality assurance for medical examiners in maritime medicine. It outlines that an effective QA system should be tailored to maritime health, include external peer reviews, and be acceptable to all stakeholders. The current situation involves lists of approved doctors and some audit visits, but it is patchy and not standardized. The proposed solution is IMHA QUALITY, which would provide internationally agreed standards and peer reviews from trained assessors to give an unbiased assessment of clinics and enable continuous quality improvement. The key challenges to implementing this system include engaging different stakeholders and determining who bears the costs.
The International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) is committed to improving the health of seafarers through health protection, promotion, treatment, ethics-based research, and knowledge sharing. The IMHA aims to promote maritime safety, research, and coordination between stakeholders. Existing projects include international relations, a global membership, workshops on health topics, and working groups. The IMHA also partners with other organizations through memorandums of understanding to jointly address issues like HIV, piracy response, regional health programs, and improving seafarer welfare and information.
This document outlines the process for conducting medical risk assessments for fitness for work. It discusses:
1) The different roles doctors may take on and perspectives they must consider, such as a general practitioner versus an occupational doctor.
2) The steps involved in a risk assessment, including identifying potential medical incidents based on a condition, assessing likelihood, potential job consequences, calculating risk, considering mitigation measures, and evaluating risk.
3) The need to justify decisions in writing by thoroughly explaining the medical condition, likelihood of incidents, job risks, risk evaluation and conclusions.
This document discusses tuberculosis (TB) regulations and control in Norway, including screening guidelines for individuals from high incidence countries. It notes that TB screening is required for those staying in Norway over 3 months from countries with TB incidence over 40 per 100,000 per year. Screening of seafarers primarily aims to exclude contagious pulmonary TB and involves a chest x-ray and clinical history review. Norwegian guidelines provide methods for TB screening, treatment, and infection control.
Moscow is an international hub city with many embassies and consulates. It has three international airports and was the first city in Russia to approve doctors for the NMD certificate in 1997. Since 2014, 187 Norwegian certificates have been issued to deck officers, engine officers, and scientists. There is a lack of Russian legislation for offshore work, so the NMD certificate is often used. Questions remain about accreditation, when and where NMD and offshore certificates can be used, and how to balance requirements with time spent with patients. Security and fake certificates from seafarers, crewing companies, and doctors are also concerns.
This document provides guidance on new regulations from the Department of Occupational Medicine. It aims to support doctors in their decision making and ensure harmonized, evidence-based risk assessments. The guidance covers topics like vision, hearing, physical capacity and common medical conditions. It is an online resource that will be updated regularly based on experience and feedback to aid doctors in evaluating seafarers' medical certificates.
The document discusses the responsibilities and procedures of Approved Doctors in conducting medical examinations of seafarers under new Norwegian regulations. It outlines that while the regulations introduce some changes, the doctors' main obligations remain the same - to follow administrative law, conduct thorough evidence-based medical assessments according to best practices, and justify their decisions. The document provides guidance on collecting relevant medical information, performing risk assessments based on the job and vessel, applying ethical standards, and explaining the rationale for certification decisions in writing.
This document discusses the role and responsibilities of seafarer's doctors under Norwegian law. It outlines that seafarer's doctors are authorized by the Norwegian Maritime Authority to conduct medical examinations and issue certificates to seafarers. However, they are only acting as a seafarer's doctor when performing duties described in the applicable regulations. As the medical examinations involve individual decisions about seafarers, seafarer's doctors must follow the Public Administration Act, ensuring impartiality and providing justified, written decisions that can be appealed. They must give guidance to help seafarers understand and safeguard their rights during the process.
This document discusses the requirements for quality management systems regarding medical examinations for seafarers in Norway. It outlines that both the Norwegian Maritime Authority and doctors conducting medical exams must have a certified quality management system in accordance with international standards. The key requirements for doctors include maintaining competence in maritime medicine, participating in training, having the proper equipment, and implementing a quality system. The document also provides an overview of the components of a quality management system, including establishing processes, monitoring effectiveness, ensuring resource availability, implementing improvements, and having a quality policy.
This document compares the requirements for pre-employment medical examinations (PEME) between the Norwegian Maritime Authority, Department of Health standards, and P&I Clubs. PEMEs are required to verify a seafarer's health and ability to safely perform duties at sea. The examinations assess medical history, physical and mental health, and ability to meet minimum performance standards. Certificates are valid for two years from DOH and P&I Club accredited clinics, but only one year for seafarers under 18. PEMEs ensure seafarers are fit to work without health risks to themselves or others on board ships.
1) Representatives from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway met to discuss cooperation on maritime medical services.
2) They agreed on joint approval criteria for medical examinations and certificates, training for approved doctors, and that certificates would be valid across participating countries.
3) The group also agreed to link their websites to facilitate certificate issuance and finding doctors, publish standards and manuals, and include notes on certificates indicating equivalency across countries.
This document discusses restrictions and limitations that may be placed on seafarers' medical certificates due to health conditions. It outlines four categories of fitness: unfit for any duties, able to perform some but not all duties with restrictions, requiring increased surveillance, and able to perform all duties without restrictions. Restrictions aim to balance rehabilitation and safety by allowing seafarers to work within limitations of their conditions. Assessing fitness requires considering probabilities of impairment occurring and being able to mitigate its effects. Authorities must provide guidance and support to ensure consistent, evidence-based decisions are made regarding seafarers' medical restrictions.
This document outlines the regulations and procedures for medical examinations of employees on Norwegian ships and mobile offshore units. It discusses:
1) The legislation around medical certificates and examinations, including the Public Administration Act.
2) The process for appealing a doctor's decision to deny a medical certificate, including applying for an exemption and preparing the case for the appellate body.
3) The responsibilities of the seafarer's doctor and the appellate body in thoroughly investigating cases and making impartial administrative decisions in accordance with regulations.
Kjell Grøndahl presented on testing seafarers' hearing capacity while using hearing aids. International standards require a pure tone average of 30 dB or less in the better ear and 40 dB or less in the poorer ear, measured at specific frequencies. Speech audiometry tests speech recognition but has calibration issues across languages. Aided hearing can be tested using speech-in-noise tests, which measure the signal-to-noise ratio required to correctly recognize 50% of words in background noise, simulating real working conditions. Acceptable results on such tests should allow seafarers to safely and effectively perform their duties, compared to reference data from young, normal-hearing subjects.
The document discusses the UK system for approving doctors to conduct seafarer medical examinations and potential international collaboration on mutual recognition. It notes there are 225 approved doctors in the UK and overseas, who conducted over 54,000 examinations in 2013. The UK provides support to doctors through medical standards, training, and oversight. International meetings have discussed aligning medical standards between countries like Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. While progress has been made in understanding each other's systems, further work is still needed before mutual recognition of approved doctors across countries can be achieved.
The document discusses international cooperation and organizations that are important for maritime medicine. It outlines conventions and regulations related to maritime health, including those addressing medical examinations of seafarers. Specifically, the STCW Convention and MLC 2006 provide guidance on medical exams, while the ILO/IMO Guidelines provide criteria for assessing medical fitness. There is discussion of developing common standards and mutual recognition of medical examiners between countries to harmonize application of medical requirements internationally.
The Philippine System of Medical Examinations for Seafarers has the following key points:
1) The Department of Health regulates medical clinics performing examinations on migrant workers and seafarers to ensure standards and reasonable fees.
2) Administrative Order No. 2013-0006 updated guidelines to strengthen clinic regulations and medical examinations in line with new laws.
3) Monitoring finds some clinics need improvements to fully comply with personnel, facility and equipment requirements.
1. Aviation medicine has been more successful than maritime medicine in establishing an international system of medical standards due to the competitive nature and price-driven pressures of the aviation industry which require a "level playing field" with common safety standards.
2. While aviation has seen tremendous growth, aviation medicine has developed standards to ensure safety such as requirements for pressurized cabins, oxygen, and crash protection which has led to commercial aviation seeing its accident rate reduced by a factor of 50 since the 1960s.
3. However, being a pilot is still a high risk occupation with pilots having a standardized mortality rate of 46 for fatal occupational accidents compared to the general population, though disease risk is low, suggesting aviation medicine could improve
The document discusses the consequences of low quality medical examinations for seafarers. It provides three case histories where seafarers were declared fit for work but later became ill at sea due to inadequate checks at their medical examinations. This led to costs and problems. The document also compares medical examination standards between countries and lists common illnesses and those requiring seafarers to return home. It considers political, economic, social, technological, legislative and environmental factors related to improving medical examinations. The goal is to stop "burying heads" and take action to prioritize seafarer health.
The document summarizes the history and current status of the ILO and IMO guidelines on medical examinations for seafarers. It discusses how the original guidelines from 1997 were revised to provide more specific guidance and reflect changes in international standards. The current guidelines provide practical guidance for competent authorities and medical practitioners on conducting examinations and ensuring quality standards. Implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention is being monitored, including questions about countries' requirements for medical certification of seafarers. Port state control data on deficiencies found regarding medical certificates is presented. Remaining questions are raised about adherence to the ILO/IMO guidelines.
This document discusses why maritime health is an international issue rather than just a national responsibility. While ships used to operate within single countries, globalization has made fleets multinational with crews from different countries. This poses challenges for applying health standards consistently when countries regulate maritime health differently. The document examines historical examples like health issues for seamen in 19th century Callao, Peru to show how health problems have long transcended national boundaries in the shipping industry. It argues that principles now exist for international cooperation on maritime health management, but vested interests of different groups pose barriers to realizing a unified approach.
This document discusses pre-employment medical examinations for seafarers and their relevance and impact. It notes that while such examinations aim to avoid business interruptions from health issues, they often focus more on selection than overall health. Examinations may reject some applicants but do not necessarily improve seafarer health overall. The document argues for a future focus on health promotion programs to create a healthier workforce, rather than just selection through medical screening. Statutory examinations will continue ensuring safety, but the industry needs frameworks supporting seafarer health and well-being long-term.
This document outlines the process for conducting medical risk assessments for fitness for work. It discusses:
1) The different roles doctors may take on and perspectives they must consider, such as a general practitioner versus an occupational doctor.
2) The steps involved in a risk assessment, including identifying potential medical incidents based on a condition, assessing likelihood, potential job consequences, calculating risk, considering mitigation measures, and evaluating risk.
3) The need to justify decisions in writing by thoroughly explaining the medical condition, likelihood of incidents, job risks, risk evaluation and conclusions.
This document discusses tuberculosis (TB) regulations and control in Norway, including screening guidelines for individuals from high incidence countries. It notes that TB screening is required for those staying in Norway over 3 months from countries with TB incidence over 40 per 100,000 per year. Screening of seafarers primarily aims to exclude contagious pulmonary TB and involves a chest x-ray and clinical history review. Norwegian guidelines provide methods for TB screening, treatment, and infection control.
Moscow is an international hub city with many embassies and consulates. It has three international airports and was the first city in Russia to approve doctors for the NMD certificate in 1997. Since 2014, 187 Norwegian certificates have been issued to deck officers, engine officers, and scientists. There is a lack of Russian legislation for offshore work, so the NMD certificate is often used. Questions remain about accreditation, when and where NMD and offshore certificates can be used, and how to balance requirements with time spent with patients. Security and fake certificates from seafarers, crewing companies, and doctors are also concerns.
This document provides guidance on new regulations from the Department of Occupational Medicine. It aims to support doctors in their decision making and ensure harmonized, evidence-based risk assessments. The guidance covers topics like vision, hearing, physical capacity and common medical conditions. It is an online resource that will be updated regularly based on experience and feedback to aid doctors in evaluating seafarers' medical certificates.
The document discusses the responsibilities and procedures of Approved Doctors in conducting medical examinations of seafarers under new Norwegian regulations. It outlines that while the regulations introduce some changes, the doctors' main obligations remain the same - to follow administrative law, conduct thorough evidence-based medical assessments according to best practices, and justify their decisions. The document provides guidance on collecting relevant medical information, performing risk assessments based on the job and vessel, applying ethical standards, and explaining the rationale for certification decisions in writing.
This document discusses the role and responsibilities of seafarer's doctors under Norwegian law. It outlines that seafarer's doctors are authorized by the Norwegian Maritime Authority to conduct medical examinations and issue certificates to seafarers. However, they are only acting as a seafarer's doctor when performing duties described in the applicable regulations. As the medical examinations involve individual decisions about seafarers, seafarer's doctors must follow the Public Administration Act, ensuring impartiality and providing justified, written decisions that can be appealed. They must give guidance to help seafarers understand and safeguard their rights during the process.
This document discusses the requirements for quality management systems regarding medical examinations for seafarers in Norway. It outlines that both the Norwegian Maritime Authority and doctors conducting medical exams must have a certified quality management system in accordance with international standards. The key requirements for doctors include maintaining competence in maritime medicine, participating in training, having the proper equipment, and implementing a quality system. The document also provides an overview of the components of a quality management system, including establishing processes, monitoring effectiveness, ensuring resource availability, implementing improvements, and having a quality policy.
This document compares the requirements for pre-employment medical examinations (PEME) between the Norwegian Maritime Authority, Department of Health standards, and P&I Clubs. PEMEs are required to verify a seafarer's health and ability to safely perform duties at sea. The examinations assess medical history, physical and mental health, and ability to meet minimum performance standards. Certificates are valid for two years from DOH and P&I Club accredited clinics, but only one year for seafarers under 18. PEMEs ensure seafarers are fit to work without health risks to themselves or others on board ships.
1) Representatives from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway met to discuss cooperation on maritime medical services.
2) They agreed on joint approval criteria for medical examinations and certificates, training for approved doctors, and that certificates would be valid across participating countries.
3) The group also agreed to link their websites to facilitate certificate issuance and finding doctors, publish standards and manuals, and include notes on certificates indicating equivalency across countries.
This document discusses restrictions and limitations that may be placed on seafarers' medical certificates due to health conditions. It outlines four categories of fitness: unfit for any duties, able to perform some but not all duties with restrictions, requiring increased surveillance, and able to perform all duties without restrictions. Restrictions aim to balance rehabilitation and safety by allowing seafarers to work within limitations of their conditions. Assessing fitness requires considering probabilities of impairment occurring and being able to mitigate its effects. Authorities must provide guidance and support to ensure consistent, evidence-based decisions are made regarding seafarers' medical restrictions.
This document outlines the regulations and procedures for medical examinations of employees on Norwegian ships and mobile offshore units. It discusses:
1) The legislation around medical certificates and examinations, including the Public Administration Act.
2) The process for appealing a doctor's decision to deny a medical certificate, including applying for an exemption and preparing the case for the appellate body.
3) The responsibilities of the seafarer's doctor and the appellate body in thoroughly investigating cases and making impartial administrative decisions in accordance with regulations.
Kjell Grøndahl presented on testing seafarers' hearing capacity while using hearing aids. International standards require a pure tone average of 30 dB or less in the better ear and 40 dB or less in the poorer ear, measured at specific frequencies. Speech audiometry tests speech recognition but has calibration issues across languages. Aided hearing can be tested using speech-in-noise tests, which measure the signal-to-noise ratio required to correctly recognize 50% of words in background noise, simulating real working conditions. Acceptable results on such tests should allow seafarers to safely and effectively perform their duties, compared to reference data from young, normal-hearing subjects.
The document discusses the UK system for approving doctors to conduct seafarer medical examinations and potential international collaboration on mutual recognition. It notes there are 225 approved doctors in the UK and overseas, who conducted over 54,000 examinations in 2013. The UK provides support to doctors through medical standards, training, and oversight. International meetings have discussed aligning medical standards between countries like Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. While progress has been made in understanding each other's systems, further work is still needed before mutual recognition of approved doctors across countries can be achieved.
The document discusses international cooperation and organizations that are important for maritime medicine. It outlines conventions and regulations related to maritime health, including those addressing medical examinations of seafarers. Specifically, the STCW Convention and MLC 2006 provide guidance on medical exams, while the ILO/IMO Guidelines provide criteria for assessing medical fitness. There is discussion of developing common standards and mutual recognition of medical examiners between countries to harmonize application of medical requirements internationally.
The Philippine System of Medical Examinations for Seafarers has the following key points:
1) The Department of Health regulates medical clinics performing examinations on migrant workers and seafarers to ensure standards and reasonable fees.
2) Administrative Order No. 2013-0006 updated guidelines to strengthen clinic regulations and medical examinations in line with new laws.
3) Monitoring finds some clinics need improvements to fully comply with personnel, facility and equipment requirements.
1. Aviation medicine has been more successful than maritime medicine in establishing an international system of medical standards due to the competitive nature and price-driven pressures of the aviation industry which require a "level playing field" with common safety standards.
2. While aviation has seen tremendous growth, aviation medicine has developed standards to ensure safety such as requirements for pressurized cabins, oxygen, and crash protection which has led to commercial aviation seeing its accident rate reduced by a factor of 50 since the 1960s.
3. However, being a pilot is still a high risk occupation with pilots having a standardized mortality rate of 46 for fatal occupational accidents compared to the general population, though disease risk is low, suggesting aviation medicine could improve
The document discusses the consequences of low quality medical examinations for seafarers. It provides three case histories where seafarers were declared fit for work but later became ill at sea due to inadequate checks at their medical examinations. This led to costs and problems. The document also compares medical examination standards between countries and lists common illnesses and those requiring seafarers to return home. It considers political, economic, social, technological, legislative and environmental factors related to improving medical examinations. The goal is to stop "burying heads" and take action to prioritize seafarer health.
The document summarizes the history and current status of the ILO and IMO guidelines on medical examinations for seafarers. It discusses how the original guidelines from 1997 were revised to provide more specific guidance and reflect changes in international standards. The current guidelines provide practical guidance for competent authorities and medical practitioners on conducting examinations and ensuring quality standards. Implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention is being monitored, including questions about countries' requirements for medical certification of seafarers. Port state control data on deficiencies found regarding medical certificates is presented. Remaining questions are raised about adherence to the ILO/IMO guidelines.
This document discusses why maritime health is an international issue rather than just a national responsibility. While ships used to operate within single countries, globalization has made fleets multinational with crews from different countries. This poses challenges for applying health standards consistently when countries regulate maritime health differently. The document examines historical examples like health issues for seamen in 19th century Callao, Peru to show how health problems have long transcended national boundaries in the shipping industry. It argues that principles now exist for international cooperation on maritime health management, but vested interests of different groups pose barriers to realizing a unified approach.
This document discusses pre-employment medical examinations for seafarers and their relevance and impact. It notes that while such examinations aim to avoid business interruptions from health issues, they often focus more on selection than overall health. Examinations may reject some applicants but do not necessarily improve seafarer health overall. The document argues for a future focus on health promotion programs to create a healthier workforce, rather than just selection through medical screening. Statutory examinations will continue ensuring safety, but the industry needs frameworks supporting seafarer health and well-being long-term.
More from Norwegian Centre for Maritime Medicine (20)
2. FOC FORMÅL
• Skape en fair konkurranse i shipping industrien
særlig skulle mannskapskostnadene ikke være
eller gjøres til konkurransefaktor
• Skape bedre lønns og arbeidsvilkår for
besetningene på FOC skip
• Forsøke gjennom punktene ovenfor å få
rederiene til å reflagge skipene til nasjonale
registre
3. INNLEDNING TIL MLC
• ILO direktør den gang sa under sin
åpningstale:
• I strongly encourage the social partners in the
shipping industry to intensify their social
dialogue in order to ensure decent work for
seafarers.
• Videre uttalte han “let us also work together
in a dynamic and effective partnership to
realize this goal”
4. VÅR OG ITF ROLLE VED IKRAFTREDELSE
MLC
• FOC KAMPANJEN FORTSETTER , ANDRE MÅL
• Statens plikt til å konsultere arbeidslivets parter
article II nr 3, 5 og 6 om def sjømenn og skip,
unntak fra deler av koden Artikkel VII
• Sikring av sjømannens rettigheter – brudd
• Complaint procedure
• TILSYN
• Ingen formell rolle. Tilsyn tillagt Flaggstat og
havnestat
5. SAMMENFALLENDE TILSYN FOC - MLC
• Employment agreement (tariff)
• Hours of work (som ledd i kontroll tariff)
• Manning levels for the ship (tariffbestemt)
• On board complaint procedures ( en del
avtaler har dette med, overensstemmende
med MLC)
• Payment of wages.
6. SAMMENFALLENDE TILSYN FOC - MLC
• Samtidig vil våre inspektører også notere seg
mangler knyttet til forhold nevnt her. Mulige
mangler vil bli rapportert til rett myndighet for
videre oppfølgning.
• food and catering
• accommodation
• minimum age
• health and safety.
7. Sanksjoner
• Fagforeningene har ingen selvstendig sanksjon
myndighet innenfor MLC. Tillagt flaggstat og
havestat.
• Manglende betaling hyrer, andre brudd
tariffavtale FOC – boikott
• Manglende hyre – arrest av skip