***Supporting the Filipino seafarer
A quarter of the world’s 1.5m seamen are Filipinos; industry-wide help for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan has been huge
SINGAPORE has already contributed generously and effectively, at government, corporate and private levels, to the international response to the devastation wrought by Typhoon Yolanda (also known as Haiyan) and that is something to be proud of. Many Singaporeans may be less aware of the great efforts going on here and around the world to support Filipino seafarers. During second half of the 20th Century, the Filipino became the international seafarer, far outstripping other nationalities in terms of numbers.
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Philippines has been the world’s main supplier of seamen since 1987. The country’s Department of Labor and Employment says that about 230,000 Filipinos are onboard merchant ships worldwide and they make up more than a quarter of the world’s 1.5 million seafarers.
So, the events of two weeks ago have had its impact on the world fleet in a way that has probably never happened to any industry before.
The response of all sectors of the industry appears, overall, to be exemplary. Shipowner groups, unions and welfare organisations are pulling together to respond to the disaster.
Very shortly after the typhoon struck, the Mission to Seafarers and Sailors Society started providing free phone cards, SIM cards and Wi-Fi to Filipino seafarers at their centres worldwide.
The Seafarers’ Emergency Fund, administered by the recently created International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (Iswan), is now providing funds for seafarer centres around the world to put Filipino seafarers in touch with their families back home.
While rescue and relief efforts in the affected areas of the Philippines were hampered by the destruction of infrastructure and a coordinated effective effort took several days to bring together, the shipping industry was able to put existing welfare support structures to use quickly.
Iswan was able to co-ordinate the response from organisations involved in seafarers’ welfare such as the International Shipping Federation/International Chamber of Shipping (ISF/ICS), the International Transport Workers‘ Federation (ITF) and the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA).
Within days, the ITF affiliate, Filipino union Amosup, was using their training ship, the Felix Oca, to transport humanitarian supplies provided by Norwegian shipowners and others to the affected areas.
In an initial move, major Japanese shipping company MOL donated US$30,000 to the relief effort. Meanwhile, KVH’s Headland Media used their daily news bulletin, Newslink, to provide information on the typhoon and aftermath to their 100,000 Filipino seafarer readers on board 10,000 ships all over the world.
Iswan itself is helping to share information and provide a service to seafarers – via their SeafarerHelp (www.seafarerhelp.org [http://www.seafarerhelp.org]) free helpline – who are concerned about their families back home in the Philippines. The service has Tagalog speakers available.
Already in place were chaplains and welfare workers at seafarer welfare centres around the world. They were quickly on alert worldwide to cope with Filipino seafarers who received tragic news while at sea or in port.
The global shipping industry, of course, consists of many shipping companies, shipmanagers and crewing agents. With the best will in the the world, it is unrealistic to expect them all to respond in the same way. And there are too many poor employers in the industry anyway, although they make up a small minority. So, it is inevitable that some seafarers will get better treatment than others.
However, Iswan and an industry group comprising shipowners, welfare organisations and unions have produced a new good practice guide for shipping companies and crewing agencies on supporting Filipino seafarers affected by the typhoon. It is a detailed guide clearly reflecting a wealth of experience in practicalities of providing welfare service to seafarers.
Supporting Filipino seafarers in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan is going to require concerted efforts, and significant amounts of money, for some considerable time. The early signs are that the industry is up to the challenge.
FROM THE RMT:
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FROM TRADEWINDS:
***TMT slammed over bulker
TMT has come in for harsh criticism from UK trade union Nautilus International over the treatment of one of its bulker crews.
TMT’s Donald Duckling
The Panamanian-flagged Donald Duckling (built 1997) was detained by the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency in Tyne Port last week after an inspection uncovered a long list of serious deficiencies.
The union claims crew members on the ship had such poor food provisions onboard that they were forced to catch fish which they had to cook on deck because galley equipment was out of order.
Nautilus and International Transport Workers’ Federation inspector Tommy Molloy described the vessels as “one of the worst examples of substandard shipping that he has encountered”.
He alleges that crew members have not been paid on time on a number of occasions and formal requests by two seafarers to be repatriated because of family illnesses had been ignored.
“The chief engineer had been dismissed after requesting spare parts to rectify problems identified in the port state control inspections,” claims Molloy.
“The vessel is clearly not seaworthy – which ought to be of grave concern to the charterers and cargo receivers.
“It is clear that the crew would have been placed into potential danger had the ship left port for the voyage,” he added.
Molloy said the onboard contractual documentation for the Romanian and Filipino crew members was not in compliance with international Maritime Labour Convention requirements.
“We are aware that TMT has been having problems, but this does not excuse the outrageous treatment of the crew in this case,” he said.
The ship had been detained for 121 days earlier in the year in Gibraltar, when 21 safety deficiencies were found by port state control officers, and in September aninspection in Las Palmas found 33 deficiencies.
FROM THE NATIONAL (PNG):
***Better deal for workers sought now
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FROM THE BBC:
London Underground ticket offices to close and 750 jobs to go
Every ticket office on the Tube is to shut by 2015 under plans that will see 750 jobs cut.
Transport for London (TfL) said staff will be moved from behind ticket office windows to be in the station itself to help passengers.
The Tube will also run 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays on some lines.
TfL says the changes will be better for customers and help save more than £40m a year. The RMT union has already said it was a “lethal programme of cuts”.
The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of about £78m in the financial years of 2013 and 2014.
TfL says six major central London stations will have special customer points to help tourists and that every station will be staffed while the tube is running.
It is also promising:
- Wi-fi coverage across all below-ground stations
- Disabled access at a further 27 stations
- Contactless bank card payment to make it easier to pay for tickets
- More new trains and updates for stations
The initial plans for the 24-hour Night Tube service at weekends will include services on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines and parts of the Northern line, with plans for it to expand over subsequent years.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said: “This is just the first stage in an opening up of the tube network to become 24 hours.
“For 150 years, the Tube has been the beating heart of London, its tunnels and tracks providing the arteries that have transported millions of people and helped to drive the development and economic growth of our great city.”
London Underground will now go into a 90-day consultation on its proposals but says there will be no compulsory redundancies and has promised that every member of staff who wants a job and who is “ready to be flexible” will have one.
The managing director of London Underground Mike Brown, said: “All Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to customers.”
But the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), which represents most of the station staff who would be affected, has said it would “fight these plans with every tool at our disposal and that includes political, public and industrial campaigning on an unprecedented scale”.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the “proposed cuts will decimate staffing levels and hit the most vulnerable users” of Tube services.
He said: “The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a thousand jobs and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been cut to the bone while passenger demand continues to rise.
“Throwing in the plan for night time operation at the weekends is just a smokescreen to try and camouflage the real issue which is a savage cuts to jobs, access and safety.”
Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association rail union, accused the mayor of being the “hypocrite of the decade”.
He said: “It beggars belief that the Mayor, who was elected in 2008 on a pledge to keep open every ticket office, is now planning to close every single one, with all that means for safety and jobs.
“We shall be launching a joint campaign with Labour to reverse this decision.”
In March, BBC London reported TfL is facing a 1% cut in its government grant this year, and 2% the following year.
In cash terms, it means a loss of £33m for 2013-14, and £45m for 2014-15.
In January, passengers saw a 4.2% increase on average in fares across the Tube, buses and trams.