PHILIPPINE GLOBAL SEAFARER - A PROFILE

This document was prepared by Maragtas Amante and published by the SIRC, i.e. Seafarers International Research Centre. Although the Philippines is a country providing more than a quarter of the total number of the world's seafarers who are employed on the ships trading internationally, by today it has not been possible to find reliable information concerning the Filipino seamen and their circumstances in a single publication.

Such information would definitely be very valuable for the crew managers of the shipping companies, as well as officers of international associations, agencies and any other parties involved. The present report is intended to remedy the existing deficit. There were some separate surveys conducted years ago of seamen and students enrolled in a number of maritime colleges with the ultimate purpose to generate a profile of Filipino seafarers that would be dependable enough to rely on.

The results of the subject survey were amplified by the interviews with some crewing managers, trade union officials and senior government officers and by a search of available relevant documentation. This report starts with the introduction and a chapter on the survey mentioned above. Among the topics included in the publication there are recruitment, hiring and working on board, training and education, pay variations etc.