STRAIT TALK

Report on seafarers paying ‘fees’ to get work raises concerns

    • Filipino seamen at work. The country is the world's single largest supplier of such workers. They accounted for the second-highest number of nationalities affected by the illegal practice of coercing these workers to pay "fees" to be assigned work.
    • Filipino seamen at work. The country is the world's single largest supplier of such workers. They accounted for the second-highest number of nationalities affected by the illegal practice of coercing these workers to pay "fees" to be assigned work. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Tue, Aug 1, 2023 · 04:40 PM

    MAKING seafarers pay to obtain work is banned by the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). In other words, the practice is illegal under international law.

    This is why a recent report showing the “scale of the corrupt practice of seafarers compelled to pay illegal employment fees, leading to debt, exploitative working conditions, and extended family separation” deserves attention.

    The report and survey, undertaken by the UK’s Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and global maritime welfare charity, the Mission to Seafarers (MtS), examines the extent of illegal recruitment fees and charges being levied on seafarers, in violation of the MLC.

    The MtS said the report, titled Survey on Fees and Charges for Seafarer Recruitment or Placement, “shines a light on instances in which seafarers are being forced into paying illegal fees and charges, further confirming the extent of this serious problem and providing a better understanding of how widespread the issue is”.

    The report includes a survey of more than 200 seafarers. The MtS says they were drawn from a wide variety of ranks, age and nationalities, and all data collected was processed rigorously. The report details the respondents by department and rank; nearly all were male. 

    Almost 65 per cent of them said that they were aware of illegal demands for recruitment or placement fees, either through personal experience or the experience of a colleague. 

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    However, it is unclear how the seafarers who responded became involved in the survey. It would have been difficult to guard against an element of self-selection, given that those concerned about the issue would have presumably been more inclined to respond.

    The MtS noted that 92 per cent of the respondents said these corrupt practices must be abolished. This was perhaps unsurprising, although the MtS commented that this was “an important figure, because it highlights an awareness that such fees and charges are not an acceptable part of the hiring process”.

    In terms of the nationalities hit by this practice: Indian citizens accounted for 29 per cent of the cases, with the next two most predominant nationalities being Filipinos and Myanmar citizens.

    It was found that in 36 per cent of the cases, the demand for such fees was made in India, followed by the Philippines, and then Myanmar.

    The report noted that 58 per cent of respondents said the demand for these illegal fees and charges came from the crewing agent appointed by the shipping company. Another 31 per cent said it was from an individual linked to the crewing agent; 11 per cent said the demand came from an employee of the shipping company.

    Asked about the nature of the demand, 56 per cent said it was couched as a “service charge”; 29 per cent said they were told that the payments were for “agency fees or registration fees”, and 29 per cent were told it was a “bribe”.

    The sums involved ranged from US$50 to US$7,500, with the average being US$1,872. In 10 per cent of reported cases, the seafarers affected were reported to be still in debt.

    Another concerning finding was that nearly one in three (29 per cent) respondents had their documents unlawfully withheld during the recruitment process. These documents were typically their Continuous Discharge Certificate/Seaman’s book, passport or Certificate of Competency.

    The MtS stressed: “Such behaviour is a clear breach of the MLC, an international treaty adopted by the International Labour Organization. The MLC entered into force in 2013, and is often referred to as the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights. It makes clear that no fees or charges should be borne by the seafarers for their recruitment, placement or employment, other than for their seafarers’ book, statutory medical certificate and passport. All seafarers should be able to access employment without the payment of fees or charges to recruitment agencies or intermediaries.”

    Commenting on the report, the MtS’s director of programmes Ben Bailey said: “This report confirms what seafarers have told us informally about the scourge of illegal fees and charges that so many of them are being coerced into paying in return for employment. Not only does the data shed new light on this phenomenon, the anecdotal feedback from seafarers further reveals how widespread and damaging this problem is to individuals and their families.”

    Helio Vicente, director of employment affairs at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), told The Business Times: “Smooth recruitment, placement and retention of our seafaring workforce is fundamental to the successful functioning of our industry. Demanding payment of fees or charges of any kind as a prerequisite for employment of seafarers is as morally wrong as it is illegal under international law.”

    He added: “In 2022, the global shipping community came together to update the MLC, and this was among the priority issues addressed. Requirements for establishment of a standardised oversight system of licensing, certification or other form of regulation for recruitment and placement services are enshrined into the MLC. The MLC also provides for seafarers to receive compensation in cases of monetary loss they may incur for failure of recruitment and placement services to safeguard their rights in this respect.”

    Vicente also said that last year, the ICS worked with seafarer social partners and ILO governments to go a step further – by making it a legal requirement to ensure that seafarers are told of their rights regarding the obligations of recruitment and placement services to compensate them for monetary losses. “We need to see more robust enforcement of these MLC recruitment and placement measures, especially in the major seafarer supply countries that are the focus of the report,” he said.

    The ICS said that attracting and retaining seafarers will require meaningful action from national governments, to implement what has been agreed internationally. The shipowners body said it was “fully committed” to continuing to work with its seafaring partners and governments, to eliminate illegal practices which detrimentally affect the livelihoods and well-being of seafarers and their families.

    But Vicente also wanted to put the report in context. He said the sample size for the survey, at over 200 seafarers, should be viewed in the context of the nearly two million seafarers worldwide, most of whom have not experienced being asked to pay fees to be assigned work, given that the MLC enforcement mechanisms have begun to bite.

    “Nevertheless, the report lays bare how the corrupt practices of some bad actors are impacting the reputation of an entire industry, in which the overwhelming majority plays by the rules, because it is the right thing to do.”

    Given the comparatively small sample of seafarers surveyed, it must be right to be cautious about just how prevalent such malpractices are. However, this is clearly an issue the global shipping industry needs to take seriously and to be seen to be clamping down on.

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