ICS releases guidelines on avoiding age discrimination on board ship
Written by Nick Blenkey
Under the ILO Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), flag states must ensure that regulations respect the fundamental right to be free from age discrimination, which can affect the physical and emotional health of employees, decrease motivation and increase sickness rates, as well as compromising cohesive and effective teamwork.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has released new Guidelines for Shipowners to Avoid Age Discrimination On Board Ships.
“Age discrimination is a form of unfair treatment and the age gap between employees in the workplace can now be as much as 50 years,” says Natalie Shaw, Director of Employment Affairs at ICS. “We are seeing a changing global workforce that is continuing to work longer, yet there are still many stereotypes associated with age that can play out on board ship. This can affect not only older employees, but also the young who can suffer from age-related stereotypes at the other end of the spectrum.
“As well as avoiding legal consequences, preventing age discrimination can help ship operators to motivate and retain staff and improve the working environment on board ship, enhancing reputations as quality employers. Having different age groups in a team with shared goals can unite employees as they swap ideas, experience and knowledge.”
The ICS Guidelines address different types of age discrimination, whether direct or indirect, and show how this can be avoided with respect to recruitment, training, pay and promotion, as well as redundancy and retirement.
“The ICS Guidelines,” says Shaw, “emphasize the importance of judging people on their performance or the quality of their job applications, and seek to tackle head-on the need to avoid damaging assumptions or stereotypes that can be unfairly associated with particular age groups.”
Downline the ICS Guidelines HERE
