Industrial Democracy in the Rough Seas: The Case of Philippine Seafarers

Abstract

The case of Philippine seafarers illustrates the tensions between globalization, national labor regulatory policies, and industrial democracy. Filipinos have the largest share in the global labor market for seafarers, and their terms and conditions of work are in the twilight zone of global shipping and national labor regulation. While circumstances in global shipping and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and International Labor Organization (ILO) influence terms and conditions of employment, national labor laws prevail. Typically, Filipino seafarers work alongside mostly European officers and other multinational crew, in a ship flying a flag of convenience, most probably owned byWestern or Japanese capital. National labor regulations provide both protection from and exposure to the vagaries of industry competition. The fiction and realities of industrial relations in the Philippine seafaring industry are indicators of the hurdles facing industrial democracy in a transient workplace such as a foreign owned global ship with a multinational crew.