Plans are afoot to revise the standard employment contract for Filipino seafarers so that they’d get, amongst other benefits, four-and-a-half months leave in lieu of the current 2 1/2. We can understand the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) wanting to play up to the lads in the Year of the Seafarer. But the whole idea is unenlightened, if not entirely doltish.
The intention, apparently, is to allow seafarers to spend more time with their loved ones. This is all fine given the value Filipinos place on family. On the other hand, the POEA proposal assumes that seafarers abhor the idea of spending up to 12 months (the maximum allowable) at sea. Maybe so. Life at sea is hard and often dangerous. Yet, the stark reality is that scores of seafarers, even the old hands, are desperate to join a vessel in order to feed their families. Most would probably not even think of sailing if only they could find decent paying jobs on shore.
Imagine, too, the impact of the scheme on shipowners. The current rules stipulate that “days leaves shall not be less than two and a half (2 1/2) days for each month of service and pro-rated.” No need for a calculator to see that shipowners would be shelling out more for leave pay if the crew is granted longer leave. The same holds for the joining crew’s air passage, which is to the shipowner’s account, with crew rotation occurring more frequently. And woe to the shipowner whose manning agent in Manila doesn’t have enough qualified replacements for the fellows returning home for a nice, long vacation.
Seafarers certainly would get the short end of the stick. Anyone with an average IQ will understand that shorter-term contracts mean less money for the seafarer and his family. Already, seafarers are spending a fortune every time they prepare to go to sea – certification fees, medical check-ups, transportation, lunches and snacks, even grease money for the ever-outstretched government palms. They’ll likely spend the same amount to cover such items but this time for shorter periods of employment. The proposed longer-leave provision purports to give something to seafarers, only to rob them of what they now have. This is not only dumb. It is mean. ~Barista Uno
The POEA of course and it’s board is only grandstanding. Or are they that stupid? They must have thought that shipping is a charity institution and seafaring is more on “join the navy and see the world” than earning a living for the seafarer’s family. Imagine the cost of repatriation for shipowners which doubles, the expeses for the seafarers departure will be multiyplied, of course more contracts more fees to dip one’s fingers into..and OWWA earns more in collections. A novel stupidity if you ask me.
The POEA should be focused on ensuring seafarers get fair wages and proper, safe working conditions, rather than worrying about leave. I think most seamen would appreciate some assistance with those expenses, even if nothing more than eliminating the bureaucracy. Will never happen.