Press Release: Seagoing workers invited on board the new maritime policy – reassessing exclusions from EU social laws

Should the current exclusion of seafaring workers from certain EU social laws be eliminated, making them shipshape for a modern maritime sector? Is there a need for specific regulations for the seafaring profession within EU social legislation? What is the best way to improve health and safety on board sea vessels? These are all questions being put to workers' and employers' representatives to reassess whether EU laws adequately protect seagoing workers. This first-phase consultation aims to strengthen the social dimension of maritime policy and to make the sector more attractive without undermining its competitiveness. It is a follow up to the 2007 Green Paper on the future of maritime policy and part of the new EU maritime package being adopted on 10 October 2007.

European Commission: COM(2007)591: Reassessing the regulatory social framework for more and better seafaring jobs in the EU http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0591:FIN:EN:PDF

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