Ship crews getting more pay, but welfare concerns remain

IN SEPTEMBER, representatives of employers and unions agreed a deal to raise the pay of seafarers by 4 per cent from Jan 1 next year and by a further 2 per cent from Jan 1, 2025.

A four-year agreement was reached by the International Bargaining Forum (IBF), the world’s only global collective-bargaining agreement which sets minimum pay levels for crews on open-registry vessels.

The IBF consists of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) representing seafarers, and the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) representing ship managers and owners.

Officers’ union Nautilus International noted that the agreement also included dozens of workplace protections and improvements, and stipulated the minimum number of public holidays; it also spelt out disincentives against poor overtime record-keeping, mandated the provision of personal protective equipment and protected the right to shore leave.

Nautilus also noted that the IBF Framework Agreement also included a commitment to provide a workplace free of violence, discrimination and harassment for seafarers, and recognised the importance of safe work practices, such as those pertaining to cargo lashing.

The deal on the whole reflected that pay was not the only issue affecting seafarers – a conclusion since reinforced by the findings of a new survey.

The Danica Crewing Specialists’ 2023 Seafarers’ Survey noted that seafarers’ pay is, in general, rising more rapidly than the rises agreed to at the IBF. “Salaries are rising by at least 10 per cent, as the crew employment market tips in the favour of seafarers.”

Announcing the survey findings at the recent Crew Connect Global Conference in Manila, Henrik Jensen, chief executive of Danica, said: “Our survey revealed some interesting and surprising results, which we hope will help our owners to enhance their marine crewing and human-resource strategies. We don’t claim this survey to be representative of the industry or to be scientifically accurate, but we do believe it gives a good snapshot of the seafarers’ situation in 2023.”

One sign of improving work conditions showed up in the past few days in the diffusing of a potential acrimonious dispute between cruise giant Carnival and its UK seafarers. Challenged by Nautilus, Carnival backed down swiftly. Within a matter of days, a joint statement declared that both parties were committed to “meaningful consultation”.

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This was in sharp contrast to an incident just a year ago, when the Dubai-based DP World dismissed nearly 800 UK crew without warning and replaced them with cheaper hires. P&O Ferries, owned by DP World, came under huge criticism then, but suffered no real sanctions. So perhaps the balance of power is shifting.

Jensen noted that the ongoing wage spiral was like the one leading up to the previous financial crisis. He said: “The root cause for these wage increases is the combination of a general shortage of very competent seafarers and a better financial situation for most vessel owners, which is making employers more generous with remuneration. And with a surplus of job offers, seafarers can afford to be picky.”

Seafarer shortages are often mentioned in the context of officer shortages, but the Danica survey also unearthed high demand for lower-level posts as bosuns, cooks and fitters. Salaries have gone up 10 per cent as a result; Ukrainian fitters have even had pay jumps of up to 30 per cent on the back of a major shortage.

Danica said seafarers remained largely satisfied with their careers at sea: 80 per cent of those polled said they would recommend their employer to a friend; 50 per cent would recommend seafaring to their children.

That said, it is also noteworthy that 70 per cent of respondents said they would be interested in working ashore.

The survey also highlighted the more worrying aspects of life at sea: 36 per cent of the respondents said their salary was not paid on time – 7 per cent higher than in 2021. Worse, 8 per cent said they had not been paid their salary in full.

At least of equal concern, 23 per cent of seafarers who responded said they had experienced a shortage of food or drinking water during their recent voyages, a slight increase from previous years.

The number of seafarers not being relieved on time has fallen to pre-pandemic levels – which sounds good, until you learn from the survey that it still means that almost a quarter of crew do not get home on time.

The survey also found that one in 20 seafarers, roughly one on every ship, reported having been bullied. And 4 per cent felt they had been discriminated against because of race, and 1 per cent reported having been sexually harassed.

The Danica survey paints a mixed picture, but it is clear that the shortage of seafarers is real, and this is pushing up crew pay. This means crew can, increasingly, walk away from employers who do not pay on time, in full, or at all.

Enlightened self-interest should spur ship managers to look more closely at seafarer welfare. They should also expect ITF inspectors paying a visit to check that the terms of the new IBF agreement are being implemented.