Seamen's Welfare On Monday the Minister of Labour informed a
deputation from the General Council of the Trades Union Congress that the Government intended to adhere to the provisions of the recommendation concerning the welfare of seamen in port which was adopted by the International Labour Confer- ence in 1936. The nature of a seaman's calling not only necessitates the long and frequent disruption of family life but also provides brief periods of relief from the necessary restrictions of life on board ship, periods spent in strange , orts all over the world in which accommodation and recrea- tive facilities are rarely organised, with the result that the physical and moral health of the seaman are frequently most adversely affected. The recommendation seeks to assemble and co-ordinate the best of those measures which already are being successfully operated by private, public and Govern- ment organisations throughbut the world, for promoting the welfare of seamen in ports. Some of the specific recommen- dations include the supervision of hotels, cafes and lodging- houses, the construction, where necessary, of seamen's hostels, the development of facilities for healthy recreation and the provision of information-offices. Port welfare is obviously an international question, and it is to be hoped that other Governments who have not already done so will adhere to the ecominendation.
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