The Labour Relations Commission for Seafarers was established in 1946, and became an external bureau of the Ministry of Transport in 1949. The Commission is an administrative agency which has quasi-judicial functions established to settle labor disputes of seafarers, such as the provision of conciliation, mediation and arbitration services, and examination of unfair labor practices.

As the Ministry of Transport was incorporated in a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport with the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies in January 2001, the Commission continued its post as an external bureau of the new Ministry. The Labour Relations Commission for Seafarers is composed of one Central Commission and eleven District Commissions.