Occupational Health and Safety of the Seafarers of Odfjell Philippines Inc.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The shipping industry in the Philippines plays an important role for the development of the country as well as the contribution to the international trade of transport of different products. Philippines provide more than one quarter of the world’s seafarers employed abroad internationally trading ships and its position as the world’s leading suppliers of seafarers .Filipino seafarers have also become a vital component of the country’s Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) economy (Amante, 2005). Different foreign and local shipping companies provide one of the largest job opportunities for the Filipino seafarers. Philippines is the leading maritime manpower in its industry, contributing about 30 percent of the whole number of the seafarers globally (Samante, 2007). On the other hand, this increasing interest of individuals to engage themselves in the occupation at sea provides higher chances of risk and danger. Occupational health and safety of seafarers is a basic human necessity with their work environment not only for the seafarers but as well as other workers. Most of the seafarers are engaged in carrying hazardous products on board resulting in higher risks and accidents if not managed properly. Most of the seafarers refer their nature of work as dirty, dangerous, and demeaning a (3D) job (Binghay, 2005) that is why seafarers have high possibility of risk and accident with their jobs. In spite of wider range of education, trainings and other procedures, which requires seafarers to upgrade their knowledge and skills throughout their nature of work, there are still large numbers of accidents which occur onboard as well as ailments and sicknesses which seafarers commonly experience and which they have to complain after disembarkation. As stressed by Li & Shiping (2002), to the worldwide seafarers, 6,471 died annually giving an annual mortality rate of 7.6 percent, among which 2,816 cases are due to accidents, giving an accidental
INTRODUCTION
The shipping industry in the Philippines plays an important role for the development of the country as well as the contribution to the international trade of transport of different products. Philippines provide more than one quarter of the world’s seafarers employed abroad internationally trading ships and its position as the world’s leading suppliers of seafarers .Filipino seafarers have also become a vital component of the country’s Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) economy (Amante, 2005). Different foreign and local shipping companies provide one of the largest job opportunities for the Filipino seafarers. Philippines is the leading maritime manpower in its industry, contributing about 30 percent of the whole number of the seafarers globally (Samante, 2007). On the other hand, this increasing interest of individuals to engage themselves in the occupation at sea provides higher chances of risk and danger. Occupational health and safety of seafarers is a basic human necessity with their work environment not only for the seafarers but as well as other workers. Most of the seafarers are engaged in carrying hazardous products on board resulting in higher risks and accidents if not managed properly. Most of the seafarers refer their nature of work as dirty, dangerous, and demeaning a (3D) job (Binghay, 2005) that is why seafarers have high possibility of risk and accident with their jobs. In spite of wider range of education, trainings and other procedures, which requires seafarers to upgrade their knowledge and skills throughout their nature of work, there are still large numbers of accidents which occur onboard as well as ailments and sicknesses which seafarers commonly experience and which they have to complain after disembarkation. As stressed by Li & Shiping (2002), to the worldwide seafarers, 6,471 died annually giving an annual mortality rate of 7.6 percent, among which 2,816 cases are due to accidents, giving an accidental
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