The Maritime Sector

THE GOOD PRACTICES OF LABOUR INSPECTION IN BRAZIL: 29PART II: A Sector-to-SectorDescription of the Good PracticesSECTION 1: MERCHANT SHIPPING AND THENATIONAL MOBILE GROUP EXPERIENCE1. Brief Description of the PracticeIn the merchant shipping sector, the good practice which stands out is theutilization of the Special Group for Mobile Inspection of Port and WaterwayLabour (Grupo Especial de Fiscalização Móvel do Trabalho Portuário e Aquaviário),also known as the National Mobile Group (Grupo Móvel Nacional - GMN). Thisgroup is a tool that has its own coordination mechanisms and is subordinatedto CONITPA. In it, a group of labour inspectors from across the country aremobilised and assembled temporarily in order to carry out joint inspectionoperations in previously determined locales. In addition to inspections, theGMNs are organised so as to provide an opportunity for the exchange ofinformation between inspectors from different states, with different levelsof experience and different kinds of expertise. With this, GMNs are intendedto promote the harmonisation of procedures 17 and the dissemination ofpractices in accordance to ILO Convention no. 178 concerning the inspectionof seafarers’ working and living conditions. The GMNs also maximize thepotential of inspection activities, since they coordinate their actions withother public authorities, such as the Federal Police, the Navy and the ANVISA.THE MARITIME SECTOR2. The Beginning of the PracticeThe Special Mobile Inspection Group is originally an experience whichbegan as part of the effort to combat labour in conditions analogous toslavery in 1995. The group started being employed as a broader inspectiontool in the maritime sector in 1999 subordinated to SIT and in the context17Protocols, Standard Notifications, Procedure Checklists, Standard Interdiction Notice