In October 2002 the Norwegian NCP received a request for review by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) alleging that Gard, a Norwegian insurance company, had breached the employment and labour provisions of the Guidelines due to enforced contractual obligations for mariners in the Philippines and and Indonesia.
ITF claimed that Gard was obliging mariners from the Philippines and Indonesia to sign a standard contract relieving the insurance company of all liability in the event of an injury or accident over and above what was stipulated in the contract.
The NCP took steps to obtain information in the specific instance, among other things through the Norwegian embassy. It eventuated that national workers’ and employers’ organisations in the Philippines had signed an agreement on the matter. In a corresponding case, the Philippine Supreme Court had ruled that such agreements were not unlawful. The NCP concluded that Gard had not violated the OECD Guidelines as the company was within the bounds of normal practice in the country where the employment relationship took place.