Joint Maritime Commission

The Joint Maritime Commission (JMC) is a bipartite standing body that provides advice to the Governing Body on maritime questions including standard setting for the shipping industry. It is composed as follows: Chairman of the Governing Body; two Governing Body members (one Worker, one Employer); twenty regular shipowner members; twenty regular seafarer members; four deputy shipowner members; and four deputy seafarer members. The Standing Orders of the JMC provide guidance on how to deal with the various procedural questions that may arise in the course of the Commission's work.

Among the Joint Maritime Commission's (JMC) specific attributes is the updating of the minimum basic wage figure for able seamen in accordance with the Seafarers' Wages, Hours of Work and Manning of Ships Recommendation, 1996 (No. 187). This is the only statutory international wage fixing mechanism. The Joint Maritime Commission's Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers has been established to regularly update this wage figure.