The Maritime Sector

THE GOOD PRACTICES OF LABOUR INSPECTION IN BRAZIL: 15The sectors which involve maritime labour have always had a significantshare in the Brazilian economy, currently employing approximately 2.5million workers. 5 However, the importance of this sector has not beenattended by consistent and effective inspection practices. In this regard, thehigh rate of informality in some of these sectors (notably in fishery, given theprecarious nature of this activity in some regions, and in naval construction,given widespread subcontracting practices) and also the inaccessibility ofthe work place of seafarers created an obstacle for inspection.However, in the course of the last two decades this scenario has undergoneradical transformation. The economic sectors related to maritime labourhave followed the upward trend of growth of the Brazilian economy.This, in turn, has lead to greater awareness concerning the need to meetinternational standards for working conditions not only in order to beable to compete in the market, but for social and political reasons as well.This awareness did not come only from the Brazilian government, butalso from labour unions, employers’ organizations, and civil society.In the 1990s, Brazil started following more closely the guidelines outlinedby the ILO. Today Brazil is signatory of 18 conventions relative to themaritime sector 6 , being that this commitment has gained momentumsince the ratification in 1991 of ILO Convention no. 147 concerningminimum standards in merchant shipping (1976). Since then, as thefollowing sections will describe, the MTE, acting through the SIT, has beenable to create a specific maritime labour inspection structure which hastaken shape and become more effective with the development of goodpractices and specific attributes. This document will identify three ofthem within three sectors of maritime work: merchant shipping, fishing,and naval construction.THE MARITIME SECTOR2.2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LABOUR INSPECTION IN THE MARITIME SECTOR IN BRAZILDuring the twentieth century, Brazilian labour inspection capacities inthe maritime sector faced limitations. In the last twenty years, however,this has changed with the implementation of a structure designedspecifically for maritime labour inspections. The temporal markers of thisevolution are:• From 1941 to 1989: the main inspection agencies were theMaritime Labour Precincts (DTMs), attached to the Brazilian Navy.5Estimate based on the sum of the fi gures provided by the SIT for the number orworkers in each sector: 2 million workers in fi shery, 400 thousand in naval constructionand 100 thousand in merchant shipping.6See Annex 1 for a complete listing.