Lawyer Dennis Gorecho discusses blacklisting and underreporting the real situation of seafarers amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Fear of blacklisting might be causing the unexplained under-reporting of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarers.
However, he lamented that there is a problem as to “the real details of the alternative reality and of the uncomfortable stories reflecting the consequences of those not fortunate enough to have the support of the big commercial companies who are pushing this stoic messaging. Without this, we have an incomplete and less-than-transparent picture of what is occurring.”
They are also calling for greater levels of Personal Protective Equipment like face masks and gloves to be made more widely available, not just for themselves, but for those maritime workers who come onboard their vessels. Seafarers who face penalties after final judgment are blacklisted. Included in the list are those disqualified from overseas employment until cleared by the POEA or until their suspension is served or lifted.
Manning agencies will blacklist seafarers for speaking out against their employers preventing them from being hired in the industry again. Manning agents secretly circulate among themselves derogatory remarks and documents as a retaliatory act against critical seafarers they consider as “troublemakers.”
The International Labor Organization’s Convention 179 “prohibits recruitment and placement services from using means, mechanisms or lists intended to prevent or deter seafarers from gaining employment.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Incinerating COVID-19 waste a ‘worst-case scenario’ option – DENR to EcoWasteMANILA, Philippines — Incinerating waste produced in the care of patients with the new coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, is only an option for a “worst-case scenario” being considered by the
Read more »
Community transmission and the silent spreaders of COVID-19The surge in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases in Cebu City, in particular, in Sitio Zapatera, Barangay Luz, prompted an emergency meeting of Cebu’s town and city mayors at the
Read more »
Bicol region COVID-19 watch: 25 cases, 1 deathLEGAZPI CITY - Six more patients tested positive of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total number of cases in the Bicol region to 25, the Department of Health (DOH) said on
Read more »
Lapu now has 10 COVID-19 cases with addition of 2 more City Hall employeesThe Lapu-Lapu City government has already isolated the homes of two new coronavirus patients in the city earlier on Friday, April 18, 2020.
Read more »
COVID-19 revives interest in ‘China prophecy’ of 1948 Lipa ‘apparition’The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has revived interest among Filipino Catholics in the disclosure by the late Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal that the alleged apparition of the…
Read more »
‘We are not at war:’ Rights advocates push back vs ‘militaristic’ approach in COVID-19 fight
Read more »