Seafarers to get 6.2% pay rise over the coming three years

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has concluded the latest round of minimum wage negotiations for able seafarers at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission (JMC), held in Geneva on this week.

The terms of the wage agreement see seafarers get a 6.2% increase in the monthly minimum wage between January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2028, an increase from $673 a month as of January 1, 2025, to $715 per month as of January 1, 2028. Seafarers will receive a 2.5% increase in the first year followed by 2% and 1.6% in the following years.

Frank Hagemann, director of the ILO sectoral policies department, commented: “The outcome of this wholly unique global collective bargaining forum represents more than just a technical adjustment to the minimum wage. It reflects a shared responsibility and commitment to uphold decent work at sea.”