able seamen, are considered as holding an intermediate rating which is outside the terms of the proposed Convention.'

"(b) Declaration of the United States Employers' member.

"At a sub-committee meeting, the United States Government member withdrew a proposed amendment concerning the so-called “blue ticket" able seamen. This was done with the understanding and agreement of the sub-committee, and subsequently of the whole committee, that nothing in the Convention shall interfere with the American practice of signing on such able seamen, whose qualifications are shown on the ship's articles.' " 3

The convention as it now stands, with the reservation embodied in the declarations, is in accord with the present practices of the United States.

The convention was adopted by a vote of 73 for and 10 against. The entire United States delegation voted for the convention.

Recommendation 77 on the organization of training for sea service merely "recommends that each Member should take into consideration" very general principles and rules in the organization of training for sea service. They are very similar to the principles which govern the present training program conducted by the Maritime Commission.

COMMITTEE ON FOOD AND CATERING

Convention on Food and Catering for Crews on Board Ship

Convention 68 concerning food and catering for crews on board ship was adopted by the Conference by a vote of 84 to 3, with 3 abstentions. The United States government and workers' delegates voted for the adoption of the convention; the United States employers' delegate against. The convention places upon the ratifying governments the responsibility for the promotion of proper standards of food supply and catering services. The convention provides for the establishment of regulations and their enforcement as well as certification of the members of the steward's department and research and educational work concerning methods of insuring proper food supply and catering service. The general objective of the convention is the establishment of adequate laws or regulations on food supply and catering arrangements with a view to safeguarding the health and well-being of the ship's crew.

3 International Labor Conference, Twenty-eighth Session, Seattle, 1946, Provisional Record No. 18, June 25, 1946, p. iv.

The competent authority under the provisions of the convention is responsible for the framing and enforcement of regulations concerning food, equipment of galleys, certification of catering department, inspection, research, and educational work. The competent authority is required to work in close cooperation with the organizations of shipowners and seafarers and with national or local authorities concerned with questions on food and health. (Article 3) Provision is made for courses of training for employment in the catering department of seagoing ships and facilities for refresher courses to enable persons already trained to bring their knowledge and skill up to date. (Article 11) Provision is also made for the preparation of an annual report, copies of which are to be transmitted to the International Labor Office.

The convention comes into effect after nine countries, five of a million tons or more, ratify it.

The convention on food and catering was drafted largely in the light of the experience of the War Shipping Administration's Food Control Division. This Division had authority only with respect to War Shipping Administration vessels. In order to secure implementing legislation to give effect to the convention, there might be a need to coordinate the activities of the various governmental agencies which now carry on these functions, namely, the Public Health Service, the United States Coast Guard, the Department of Agriculture, and the Maritime Commission.

During the discussion of the convention, the United States government delegation objected to the language used in the Office text requiring the establishment of a "central authority". We suggested the use of the term "competent authority" so that there would be no necessary requirement that all our activities be centralized in one authority. The delegation felt satisfied with the changes made in the draft convention. Only one significant change was made in the convention as recommended by the committee, and that was the deletion at the plenary session of the section dealing with the recruitment of steward's department personnel.

Both in the committee and at the plenary session, the employer members opposed the adoption of a convention and moved that it be replaced by a recommendation. This motion lost both in the committee and at the plenary session. The employer delegation opposed a convention on the ground that it would provide for further and unnecessary government regulation of their operations. The United States government and workers' delegates voted for the adoption of the convention. The United States employers' delegate voted against it.

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Convention on the Certification of Ships' Cooks

Convention 69 concerning certification of ships' cooks was adopted by a vote of 84 to 1, with 5 abstentions. The United States government and employers' delegates voted for the convention; the United States workers' delegate abstained.

The convention provides that no person shall be employed as a ship's cook on board any vessel to which the convention is applicable unless he holds a certificate of qualification as ship's cook granted in accordance with the provision set forth in article 4. This provides for the holding of examinations and for the granting of certifications of qualification conditioned on a certain minimum age, service at sea for a minimum period, and the passing of an examination prescribed by the competent authorities. The examination is to consist of a practical test of the person's ability to prepare meals as well as a knowledge of food values, the drawing up of properly balanced menus, and the handling and storage of food on the ship. Provision is also made for the immediate certification of seamen who prior to the coming into force of the convention have had two years of service as a cook. (Article 5) At the plenary session a waiver was inserted to article 3 which permits the competent authority to grant exemptions from the provisions of this article if, in its opinion, "there is an inadequate supply of certificated ships' cooks".

The United States government delegation before the Committee on Food and Catering was interested in providing a requirement for training prior to certification. The amendment was opposed by the committee, not because of its substantive provisions, but because of the feeling that matters concerning training should be considered by the Committee on Entry, Training, and Promotion. However, the matter was not taken up by that committee.

The only amendment offered before the committee which would have involved a substantial change was submitted by the employers' delegates, primarily at the insistence of the British, which would have permitted the competent authority in each country to determine to which trade and size of ships the convention would be applicable and which contained a special provision for exemption of Asiatic and African crews. This amendment was rejected by the committee.

The Resolutions Committee was composed of representatives of the following eight governments: United States of America, Chile, Egypt, France, United Kingdom, India, Norway, Sweden. Four representa

tives of the employers and four representatives of the workers were appointed to the committee.

Mr. del Rio of Chile was elected chairman of the committee; and Mr. McDonald of the United States worker group and Mr. Masters of the Indian employer group were elected vice chairmen.

The action taken by the committee was in every instance sustained by the Conference. Committee reports were adopted without dissent by the Conference in all but two instances: the resolution concerning ratification of conventions, which the Conference adopted by a vote of 37 to 15; and the resolution concerning the composition of the Joint Maritime Commission, which was adopted by a vote of 59 to 19. Brief summaries of the resolutions with comments on the action taken with respect to them by the committee follow:

Resolutions

RESOLUTION CONCERNING SEAFARERS' ORGANIZATIONS

The substance of this resolution is a matter of vital importance. However, it was not a controversial matter and passed the committee and the Conference without debate or dissent. The draft resolution that had been unanimously adopted at the preparatory conference in Copenhagen was accepted without change by the committee and the Conference. An explanatory paragraph was added to the Copenhagen draft by the committee and adopted by the Conference which emphasizes that the recommended association of shipowners and seafarers organizations with the organization and administration of institutions in which shipowners and seafarers have a common concern does not necessarily mean joint administration.

The substance of the resolution is (1) an affirmance of the principle that shipowners and seafarers in all countries have a right to organize themselves in voluntary, self-governing associations, free from compulsion or improper influence, subject to the observance of appropriate laws and regulations, (2) an emphasis on the need for mutual recognition between organizations of shipowners and seafarers and the value of collective bargaining, (3) a recommendation that governments consult with stable and representative organizations of shipowners and seafarers on the drafting and enforcement of laws and regulations affecting such organizations, and (4) a recognition of the desirability for such organizations, so far as reasonable and practicable, having regard to national practice, to be associated with the organization and administration of institutions in which shipowners and seafarers have

a common concern.

RESOLUTION CONCERNING CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT FOR SEAFARERS

The committee had before it a draft resolution drawn up at the Copenhagen preparatory conference. It was the view of the United States government representatives that the Copenhagen draft was unsatisfactory so far as it failed to take into account the possibility of working out the solution of the problem through collective bargaining or through means that American experience indicated to be desirable. In other words, the draft before the committee placed too great an emphasis on European experience. The United States government representatives proposed the addition of the following phrase in order to broaden the scope of the proposal: taking into account practices and arrangements normally in force in the respective States. ." This wording was unanimously adopted.

There was revision of the phrase in the Copenhagen draft which provided that: "The general purpose should be to provide for the payment of maintenance allowances to seafarers during intervals between periods of normal employment." The United States government representatives took the view that in the light of our national practices we could not support this statement of purpose. The government representative of the United Kingdom proposed a rewording which changed the clause from a statement of a general principle to a statement calling for consideration of the possibility of providing for payments during intervals between periods of normal employment. This rewording was adopted by the committee.

The substance of the resolution is that the Conference (1) urges governments to consider the desirability of instituting systems for promoting regularity and continuity of employment and in so doing to consider the possibility of providing for the payment of allowances to seafarers during intervals between periods of normal employment, that seafarers domiciled in a country should be covered, that seafarers and shipowners should cooperate fully in such systems, and that such systems should be coordinated with existing unemployment insurance systems, (2) expresses the hope that the question of promoting regularity and continuity of employment for seafarers be considered by a future conference with a view to the adoption of a convention on the subject, and (3) invites governments to inform the International Labor Organization of developments regarding the promotion of the schemes referred to above.

RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE COMPOSITION OF THE JOINT MARITIME

COMMISSION

This resolution was submitted by the United Kingdom workers' delegate. The employers were strongly opposed to giving the Joint Maritime Commission a tripartite basis. The United States Govern