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MANILA, Philippines—The global financial crunch is unlikely to "dampen in a big way" the hiring of Filipino seafarers, the head of a moderate labor union in the country said Friday.
Former senator and current secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Ernesto Herrera also said that Filipino seafarers' remittances grew three times faster than those of land-based overseas Filipino workers in a year-on-year comparison over the last nine months.
Citing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas statistics, he said Filipino sailors sent home a record $2.393 billion in the nine months to September, up 43.35 percent compared to the $1.669 billion they remitted over the same period last year.
In contrast, remittances by land-based Filipino workers abroad grew by only 12.17 percent to $9.879 billion in the nine months to September, versus $8.807 in the same period last year, Herrera said.
He noted that Filipino sailors sent home $1.669 billion in 2005, $1.949 billion in 2006, and $2.236 billion in 2007.
"Our computation shows that each Filipino sailor now sends home an average of $760 monthly," said Herrera, former chairman of the Senate labor, employment and human resources development committee.
He said Filipino sailors are able to send home large amounts because they receive higher pay and do not have to spend for rent, food, and utilities.
General purpose staff members on ships get paid up around $1,250 while officers receive approximately $3,000 monthly.
The trade union official said that while the global financial crisis has severely affected the West, its effects on the East are still manageable.
"Fortunately for us, the global balance of economic power has clearly shifted from the West to the East, largely on account of the robust economies of, and brisk trading around China, India, and Russia," he said in a statement.
Only last week, he said, two large Japanese shipping operators indicated they will need another 7,000 Filipino sailors to man new vessels under their fleet expansion plans.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. said it needs another 3,800 Filipino sailors to run 200 new ships between now and 2010, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. ("K" Line) said it would require an extra 3,200 Filipino sailors to run 280 new vessels between now and 2012.
Mitsui, which has one of the world's largest fleet of bulk carriers, containerships, pure car carriers, very large crude carriers, chemical, gas and product tankers, wood chip carriers, and heavy lifters, already employs more than 14,000 Filipino sailors.
Herrera said Japan, with one of the world's largest marine fleet, employs more than 50,000 Filipino seafarers.
"In fact, seven out of every 10 sailors on board Japan's merchant ships are Filipinos," Herrera said.
Herrera said that Japan, which has one of the world's largest merchant marine fleet and is strategically located in the region, is a big beneficiary of the global economic shift. He explained that as Japan imports most of its food and industrial requirements, it has to trade actively around the world.
