Mindanaotoday.com | Seafarers often get to choose: Pay or family
By: URIEL QILINGUING
Seafarers are among the highest paid workers in the world but they have to sacrifice a lot, an official of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said in a forum Thursday, June 29.
Other than loneliness, some battle depression, while others find themselves in a dilemma of choosing between high salary and keeping a family intact, said Director Annabell Lagas of Marina Northern Mindanao.
In a Philippine Information Agency-10 forum at SM Uptown mall in Cagayan de Oro, Lagas said a master mariner (ship captain) may get P500 thousand every month, while a newly-hired seaman a starting pay of at least P50 thousand.
She said she knows of a ship captain of a domestic passenger vessel who resigned and opened a business so that he’ll have more quality time with his family.
Asked whether ship-owners have the obligation to ensure not only physical fitness but also the mental well-being of seafarers, the Marina official said these are embodied in the job contracts.
“Offshore seafarers (those whose vessel moor for days at sea) work for a month, then they get one month of rest with pay,” Lagas said.
Alex Labitad, a former seafarer, who incidentally was at the mall that time, shared personal accounts, saying they are required to work only for eight hours, five-and-a-half days a week.
The 57-year-old Labitad said on a typical day, work for all able-bodied seamen starts 4 a.m. and ends 8 a.m., followed by an eight-hour break, and then back on duty again 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Then they call it a day.
He said they are to report for work in shifts, Mondays to Fridays, report to work Saturday morning, and they would be on their own on Sundays.
Singing, playing cards, bingo sessions and other forms of entertainment and games are being done on weekends, he said. They have enough to get in touch with family members and friends.
Labitad, however, admitted he could not turn down his kids, who kept on wishing he spends more time with them. He resigned after his 48th birthday after two decades as a seafarer.
He said it was difficult for one, who sacrificed a lot, only to discover one’s wife was having an affair back home.
“Those who enrolled in maritime schools were aware of a seafarer’s life,” said the Marina-10 director, and that before a seaman’s book, ID, and certificate of competency were issued to them, they must have had mental health-related trainings.
June 25 of every year is celebrated as Seafarer’s Day worldwide.
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