International Bargaining Forum

The International Bargaining Forum (IBF) is the negotiating body that sets wages and conditions for seafarers on flag-of-convenience ships, established in 2003 between the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the employer-side Joint Negotiating Group (JNG). Its framework agreement is the world’s largest private-sector collective pay agreement, covering more than 9,000 vessels and several hundred thousand seafarers. The JNG comprises IMEC, IMMAJ, the Korean Shipowners’ Association, and Evergreen. Pay is built around ITF benchmark rates plus a non-seafarer-negotiating-period welfare fund contribution.