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By Frank Lloyd Tiongson, Reporter
FILIPINOS are arguably the best and most sought-after seafarers in
the world.
But given the pressures and hazards of working
at sea, they do not get compensated enough. They work in unfair
labor arrangements.
Most Filipino sailors are employed cheap, says
Edwin de la Cruz, head of the International Seafarers Action Center
(ISAC).
The average monthly salary of the lowest paid
Filipino seafarer is $400.
In the last meeting of the Joint Maritime
Commission’s subcommittee on wages of seafarers in 2006, it was
recommended that the basic minimum wage of the Able Seaman be raised
to $515 as of January 1, 2007; to $530 as of January 1, 2008; and to
$545 as of December 31, 2008.
De la Cruz points to the “flag of
convenience” system, practiced for decades by shipping lines, as
the culprit behind the cheap pay.
A flag of convenience is a flag of one country
flown by a ship owned by a citizen or company of another country.
The system allows large shipping lines from
developed countries to register their vessels in a country from
where the vessel supposedly operates. This allows owners to skirt
the high-standard labor regulations of their home countries in order
to save on manpower costs.
Flags of convenience have more lax safety
regulations, such as those concerning the sea-worthiness of vessels.
The system enables ship owners to avoid taxes,
practice transfer pricing, avoid trade unions, recruit at very low
wage rates, skirt payment of welfare and social security
contributions for their crews, and go around strictly applied safety
and environmental standards.
One out of five ships worldwide sails under
flags of convenience. There are about 116 flags of registry,
including that of Panama, Liberia, Cyprus, Bahamas, Jamaica, Greece,
Malta, Singapore, Norway and Germany.
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA), Panama—under the flag of convenience
system—is the prime employer of Filipino seafarers, about 51,619
of them.
Hazards
Seafaring is a hazardous profession. Besides
accidents that may occur while manning large vessels in the middle
of unpredictable oceans, seafarers face the threat of pirate attacks
and hijacking.
The International Maritime Bureau reports that
hijacking in the high seas increased to 83 cases in the third
quarter of last year compared to much less that number in the same
period in 2007. Some 581 shipping crew, many of them Filipinos, were
held hostage during the first nine months of 2008.
Generally, a contract to work on board a
merchant ship lasts for nine to 12 months. The Church group
Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) describes life at sea as “harsh,
monotonous and dangerous.”
Working with machinery and chemicals, lack of
nutritious food and insufficient space for exercise all pose threats
to the health and safety of seafarers, the AOS observes. Sickness
and injury mean an end to future employment at sea.
Data gathered by AOS Philippines from government
sources indicate that each year 200 to 300 Filipino seafarers die at
sea. These figures do not include those seafarers who die
subsequently on land of injury or illness sustained while on board.
Former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit says that
among Filipino workers abroad, seamen “are the ones prone to
HIV/AIDS and such diseases because they spend months out at sea, and
are likely to indulge in short-term sexual relationships.”
ISAC’s de la Cruz says Filipinos deserve
better working arrangements owing to the escalating risks of the
profession.
He cites the 1996 POEA standard employment
contract for Filipino seafarers stipulating that if a seafarer is
injured or threatened, he or she should be automatically compensated
by the shipping company.
In 2000, however, the contract was “watered
down” to cover only “work-related” accidents, which limits
insurance claims since work-related accidents need to be established
first, according to de la Cruz.
Filipino seafarers also give up some of their
employment benefits in order to remain competitive.
The POEA now requires shipping companies to
double the death and illness benefits of Filipino seafarers whenever
their ships pass through high-risk areas. The agency also gave
Filipino seafarers the option to disembark in the last safe port
before ships pass through danger zones.
De la Cruz is urging the government to ratify
the Maritime Labor Convention that upholds the labor standards of
seafarers around the world.
Among the provisions stipulated by the
convention is broadening the scope of work-related injuries and
accidents as well as augmenting seafarer compensation to
sufficiently cover hazards and risks.
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