On-board and on-shore complaint procedureU.K.
13.—(1) The shipowner and the master of a ship to which this regulation applies must ensure that there is available to a seafarer on that ship a procedure to lodge a complaint alleging a breach of the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention and for that complaint to be resolved fairly, effectively and expeditiously.
(2) A procedure to lodge a complaint and have it resolved must—
(a)seek to resolve the complaint at the lowest level possible,
(b)enable a seafarer to complain directly to the master of the ship and appropriate external authorities,
(c)include the right of the seafarer to be accompanied or represented during any hearing which takes place under that procedure,
(d)comply with the requirements of Merchant Shipping Notice 1849(M).
(3) The shipowner and the master of a ship must ensure that a seafarer joining the ship is or has been provided with—
(a)a copy of the complaint procedure which is available to the seafarer in accordance with paragraph (1),
(b)contact information for the certifying authority for the ship,
(c)where applicable, contact information for the authority which is the competent authority for the purposes of the Maritime Labour Convention in the seafarer's country of residence, and
(d)the name of a person on board the ship who can, on a confidential basis, provide the seafarer with impartial advice on their complaint and otherwise assist them in following the complaint procedure.
(4) A seafarer may lodge with the MCA a complaint alleging a breach of the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention, and the MCA must treat the source of any such complaint as confidential.
(5) The shipowner and the master of a ship must ensure that a seafarer is not subjected to any detriment on the grounds that the seafarer has lodged a complaint, whether through an on-board procedure or to the MCA, alleging a breach of the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), seeking to resolve a complaint at the lowest level possible means—
(a)having the complaint considered by the lowest level of manager or officer who has the expertise and authority appropriate to consider such a complaint, provided that the person considering the complaint is not directly involved with the particular complaint,
(b)if that person is unable to resolve or reject the complaint, escalating the complaint to be considered by the next level of manager or officer who has the expertise and authority appropriate to consider such a complaint, provided that the person considering the complaint is not directly involved with the particular complaint, and
(c)continuing to escalate the complaint in such manner until it is resolved or rejected.