40,000 Filipino seamen will lost their job due to economis crisis!

[Eman]

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Thursday, March 19, 2009


Filipino seamen in Japan
face layoffs, says Labor chief


Thousands of Filipino seamen working for Japanese shipping companies face downsizing this year, as vessels are laid up because of the sharp fall in world trade, an official said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd. announced also on Wednesday that it would cut nearly 2,000 jobs in the Philippines.

Japanese ship owners employing more than 40,000 Filipinos as crew have notified Manila that their operations may be downsized, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque told reporters.

But he added that it might be too early to pin down the exact number of Filipino seamen who would lose their jobs. The secretary said the last report on seafarers put at 600 the number of retrenched marine workers.

“They said there is a possible downscale in the industry this year, which could have an impact on Filipino seafarers but we have no report as to the definite number,” Roque said, adding that 70 percent of Japanese fleets are manned by Filipino crew. That puts to some 40,000 workers the number of Filipino seafarers employed by Japanese ship owners.

Crew members working on car carriers, bulk carriers and container ships would be the first to go, he added.

About 300,000 Filipinos work on merchant shipping around the globe, according to official data.

But the financial meltdown only affects certain vessel types, said Ericson Marquez, co-chairman of Joint Manning Group. He added that the decline of the export and import industry caused the cargo and bulk carriers to cut back on its operation.

“The problem will be on the container and bulk carriers, since there are now less importers from developed countries,” Marquez said the same press conference attended by Roque.

“In the next six months, we can see more Philippine crewmen repatriated,” Marquez added.



I just copy the whole report from Manila Times! to make this clear! tnx!

[Eman]

Negligible number

The possible layoffs of Filipino marine workers in Japan would be “negligible,” said to Capt. Gregorio Oca, president of the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (Amosup). Filipinos make up two-thirds of the total seafarers worldwide.

He added that opportunities in shipping vessels would soon open up since there are some 2,000 ships scheduled to be delivered later this year.

Also during a tripartite meeting with the Japan Seafarers Union – attended by representatives from the Philippine government and the Amosup—Roque offered the country’s ports to be hot lay-up areas for Japanese ships. If adopted, that would create more jobs for Filipinos.

In a hot lay-up, the ship—although anchored in a port—retains its crew while waiting for cargo to deliver.

“Seafarers in a hot lay-up would still receive their salaries even if their ships are on the port . . . this could preserve the employment of our seafarers and at the same time, generate local employment,” Roque said, adding that local residents in the lay-up areas of Subic Bay and Malalag Bay in Davao could work as security guards and maintenance crew while the ships are docked.

Most shipping managers prefer hot lay-up, Marquez said, because this arrangement saves money. Training a new crew once business resumes would cost more, and it would be difficult to rehire the laid off workers, who are likely to look for new employers once fired.

Oca, however, clarified that only the port at Subic Bay port could be considered a hot lay-up area.

Some 30 vessels are in hot lay-up at Subic Bay, and 15 are in cold lay-up in Malalag Bay.

Seafarers retraining

Also at the tripartite meeting, Roque signed a memorandum of cooperation on development of Asian seafarers with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It was to train Filipino seafarers under the International Cooperative Training Project for Asian Seafarers.

“This agreement would provide Philippine seafarers affected by the crisis [an opportunity] to train and upgrade their skills while waiting for their return on board,” he said.

He said that the Labor department was looking into opening the country for ship-breaking, which would generate local employment for the scrapping and recycling of ship materials.



sompay mga bro, mga sis! tnx!

[poisontree]

He added that opportunities in shipping vessels would soon open up since there are some 2,000 ships scheduled to be delivered later this year.

aw nara man diay na.. wa kaayo'y probs.