ensuring occupational health & safety for overseas filipino seafarers

ENSURING OCCUPATIONAL 

HEALTH & SAFETY FOR OVERSEAS 

FILIPINO SEAFARERS 

By: 

Dr. Virgel C. Binghay 

School of Labor & Industrial Relations 

University of the Philippines 

E-mail: vcbinghay@yahoo.com 

Virgel C. Binghay,Ph.D. 1

INTRODUCTION 

The ship is one of the most dangerous 

workplaces with high mortality rate. 

Philippines dominates seafaring 

occupation. Filipino seafarers account for 

around 20 percent of the world‟s total 

supply of seafarers onboard. 


The world‟s maritime industry continues to 

rely on Filipino seafarers to handle 3D 

(dirty, dangerous, demeaning) jobs 

onboard foreign vessels. 


Filipino seamen also make a substantial 

contribution to the Philippine economy. 

This scenario provides the basis for this 

presentation to reiterate the need for sincere 

enforcement of occupational health and safety 

measures and guidelines by employers and 

governments to ensure better working conditions 

for all seafarers in the world. 


THE PHILIPPINE LABOR MARKET 

CONTEXT 

The Philippines‟ labor surplus economy is 

one key „push‟ factor behind the growth of 

the number of seafarers, and OFWs as 

well. 


A huge population and high annual 

population growth rate added sizeable 

increase in job seekers yearly, while job 

creation has not kept pace. 


The growth of seafaring labor force is 

triggered mainly by global demand. 

Domestic shipping may have contributed 

to its development, but the recruitment of 

seafarers in the global market progressed 

rapidly in the past three decades. 


In this light, the requirements of the 

competitive global shipping industry 

principally shaped policy for the crewing 

industry, maritime schools and 

government agencies. 


PROTECTION OF SEAFARERS 

The legal rights of Filipino seafarers come 

from two primary sources: 

The law 

The employment contract 


THE LAW 

1. Philippine Constitution of 1987 

mandates the State to “afford protection to 

labor, local and overseas, organized and 

unorganized, and promote full employment 

opportunities for all.” 


2. Philippine Labor Code of 1974 

mandates the State to “afford 

protection to labor, local and overseas, 

organized and unorganized, and 

promote full employment opportunities 

for all.” 


3. Philippine Republic Act 8042 

(Migrant Workers and Overseas 

Filipino Act of 1995) 

provides policy thrusts such as the 

guarantee of migrant workers rights 


Standard Terms and Conditions Governing 

the Employment of Filipino Seafarers On- 

Board Ocean-Going Vessels (POEA): 

1. To faithfully comply with the stipulated terms and 

conditions of this contract. 

2. To make operational on board the vessel the grievance 

machinery provided in this contract. 

3. To provide a seaworthy vessel for the seafarer and take 

all reasonable precautions to prevent accident and injury 

to the crew. 

4. To observe the Code of Ethics for Seafarers and conduct 

himself in the traditional decorum of a master. 


With these policy statements, it can be 

discerned that a safer and healthier work 

environment has long been recognized as a 

major factor for the protection of maritime 

workers‟ rights. However, in as much as the 

State has indeed come up with commendable 

policies, there is also a widespread recognition 

of the need to build capacity and sincerity to 

implement, and to fund programs envisioned by 

all these policies. 


SITUATION OF FILIPINO 

SEAFARERS 

Seafarers are fixed term contractual 

employees – 12 months 

Trilateral employment relationship – local 

recruiting agency (i.e., crewing or manning 

agency), the foreign ship owner, and the 

crew. 


Long & Tedious Job Search 

The ordeal of a Filipino seaman starts 

even while he is still looking for job on the 

high seas – during the “job search” period. 


Average job search period – 7.2 months 

Average length of seafarers‟ employment 

contract – 9.9 moths 

This means that seafarers spent about the 

same time looking for a job as they spent 

working on board 


Unscrupulous Recruitment Agencies 

Asking applicants huge amount of money 

in order to get a break in seafaring 

occupation 

Manning agencies using the new 

graduates to work without pay for as long 

as one year in exchange of the chance to 

get their first work experience on board 

ship. 


Trainees made to pay “training fees” though they 

are not assured of job after “training” 

Manning agency asking seaman to sign a 

document stating that he owe the agency a 

certain amount of money and this is done when 

he is already at the airport so as not to give the 

seaman option but to sign on the document. 


Seafarers complain about expensive, timeconsuming, 

overlapping procedures, as 

well as red tape in the processing of 

papers 

Employment aboard ocean-going ship 

inevitably subjects the worker to rigorous 

isolation and confinement. 


Isolation & Negative Work 

Situation 

Rigorous isolation & confinement 

Ship not only of work for him/her but also a 

home 

Regimented life throughout employment 

period 

Subject to the command & whims of the 

master of the ship 

At the mercy of the perils & danger of the 

high seas 


Discrimination, Abuse, Maltreatment & 

Unfair Labor Practices 

Blacklisting 

Lowering of Benefits 

Longer Working Hours 

Health & Safety Risks 


Causes of Death 

Maritime disasters (such as capsizings & 

sinkings) 

Pirates 

War areas 

Drowning & hypothermia 

Violence 

Suffocation 

Contusion 

Disappearance from ship voyage 

Back strains 


Risk of cancer 

Cardiovascular diseases 

Malaria infections 

Sexually transmitted diseases 

Acute diseases & serious injuries 


Controversial Provisions of the 

“New Standard Employment 

Contract” 

An injured or sick seafarer, or his/her heirs 

(if the seafarer dies), can claim only if his 

injury, illness, or death have been 

thoroughly proven to be work-related. 


Seafarers‟ quit claims and full disclosure of 

a seaman‟s medical history 

Once seafarers or their families claim 

death and disability, they can no longer file 

damages for negligence or torts cases 

against a foreign ship 


Competition & Lowering of 

Benefits 

International ships have begun recruiting 

more seafarers from other countries --mariners 

who are at par with Filipinos in 

terms of skills, but are willing to accept 

lower wages. 


Filipino seamen are being asked to trade 

off some of some of their benefits to 

remain in demand in the industry 


CONCLUSIONS: 

Enforcement of legislations aiming to 

protect the rights of our migrant workers, 

particularly our overseas Filipino 

seafarers, is in no way at par with their 

economic contribution to the Philippines 


Two main factors why the assurance of 

occupational health and safety remains elusive 

Filipino seafarers. 

- the lack of interest on the part of the 

employers/ ship owners to fully enforce 

occupational health and safety measures for 

seafarers especially that an effective health and 

safety management entails a considerable 

economic costs to ship owners. 


- lack of political will both from receiving 

and sending countries to adopt concerted 

and more assertive actions to address the 

problems related to ensuring a safer and 

healthier work environment for sea-based 

workers. 


RECOMMENDATIONS: 

There is a need to revise existing laws 

greatly affecting sea-based workers, 

primarily the Migrant Workers Act, since 

that said Act mainly addresses land-based 

jobs and any support for the overseas 

seafarers is stipulated only in the 

affirmation of very general principles as 

Filipinos deserving protection from the 

State. 


There is a need to streamline operations 

and services for seafarers and 

consequently, a need to rationalize 

government agencies involved with 

seafarers‟ education and training, 

certification, labor market regulation, 

employment processing, protection and 

welfare. 


There is a need to evaluate how the 

seafaring educational system of the 

country may be improved to adequately 

prepare Filipino seamen for the future jobs 

at sea. 


Maritime schools and shipping firms/ 

employers are encouraged to look at the 

possibility of investing on the preparation 

of seafarers for life and work with 

multinational crews to develop teamwork, 

good rapport, effective communication, 

and good decision-making in critical 

situations to prevent maritime disasters 

and work-related accidents. 


Strengthen social dialogues among major 

stakeholders such as the seafarers group, 

shipping firms, and governments of 

receiving and sending countries, and other 

stakeholders such as crewing agencies, 

seafarer unions, maritime schools, and 

international labor and multilateral 

organizations, with regards to upgrading 

the industry, promoting seafarers‟ welfare, 

and decent work on board ships. 


The incoming President of the Philippines 

must seriously look into plights of the 

overseas Filipino seafarers. 


“No society 

can ever claim to be civilized 

if it does not show 

honest concern 

for the 

health & safety 

of its workforce.” 

- Cox & Cox 


References 

Amante, Mragtas S.V. (2005). Philippine Global 

Seafarers: Ethnicity & Identity in Ships with 

Multinational Crews. MINDA Vol. 2 No. 2. 

[htt://www.philjol.info/index.php/MINDA/article/vie 

w/1276/1161 date accessed: January 25, 2010] 


Binghay, Virgel C. (2009). Talent 

Management, Migration & Globalization. 

VCB Research & Publications. 


THANK YOU!

ensuring occupational health & safety for overseas filipino seafarers

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