Groups deplore plight of jobless Filipino seafarers

MANILA, Philippines - Seafarer groups on Tuesday questioned the reported accreditation of about 94 maritime colleges in the country by the Commission on Higher Education.

According to the two groups – Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) and the Philippine Seafarers’ Union (PSU) — the schools have been producing hundreds of thousands of seafarers resulting in the oversupply of Filipino seamen seeking jobs.

“The (seafarer) market is saturated (and the) absorption of new seafarers is small," said AOS director Fr. Savino Bernardi, during a dialog with reporters in New Manila, Quezon City.

Bernardi said that only about seven to eight thousand Filipino seafarers are being deployed yearly, while an estimated 330,000 other seamen remain jobless.

Melchor Villanueva, PSU assistant national vice president, says that although his organization’s figures differ slightly with that of non-government organizations, he agrees that there is an oversupply of Filipino seamen.

“Based on my observation of the industry, there really is an oversupply of unlicensed seafarers," said Villanueva in a separate interview with GMANews.TV.

Unlicensed seafarers pertain to those who are not at the officer or managerial level and did not take nor pass the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) exam, according to Villanueva.

Bernardi said these seafarers who only finished three-year courses on marine engineering or on marine deck but did not take the PRC exam could also be called “ordinary seamen."

The priest also aired his concern on the reported exploitation of Filipino seamen by manning agencies.

“The real Calvary of the seafarers begins while hunting for jobs," said Fr. Bernardi, adding that the seamen often take “lowly jobs" as “utility boys" who make coffee, sweep the floor, and deliver messages, among other chores.

According to Bernardi, these “would be" seafarers are either paid a pittance or don’t receive anything at all while working as utility boys and waiting for their turn to be deployed.

“I want to be objective, some agencies give allowances of about P50 a day, but some do not at all," he said.

Villanueva said that although employing utility boys is a common practice in the maritime industry, the PSU does not allow the practice under its collective bargaining agreement. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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