Fishermen Recruitment Procedure
In the Philippines, the recruitment of fishermen is “referred” by relatives and friends to an agency based in Singapore. The most common agency where Filipinos were brought although I have seen other nationalities as well is called Step-Up located at People’s Park Complex I.
Relatives will then contact the local agents to facilitate the recruitment process. Once the contact is established, the local agents will ask the applicants their passport and demand a certain amount ranging from P 12,500 – P 40,000.00. Necessary documents are then secured such as Seaman’s Book but I have a strong feeling that these are fakes due to non-submission of pertinent documents and training required to obtain it. A picture is taken where the applicants wear a seaman’s uniform. A medical examination is then performed, where the results are never revealed to the applicants.
In less than 5 hours, the documents are ready and they are sewn by hand on one of the applicants long pants and kept in the check-in baggage. An order from the agent said that they are not supposed to be shown to anyone except the agency in Singapore. Then contract signing follows. The contract is then placed in an envelop where the name “Mr. Lim” is written on it. All of these is done not in an office but in the hiding places of these agents.
Flights bound to Singapore is usually scheduled almost immediately after all the requisites are completed. The length of waiting varies from two days to a maximum of one week from the time of application. At the airport, the agent orients applicants what to do inside. Since the agent cannot enter the airport, a “contact” from the Bureau of Immigration will then guide applicants inside the airport and takes over the stamping of the passports.
At Changi International Airport, the applicants are told to show their passports only. The Immigration Officer asks the applicants purpose in coming to Singapore and a “password” earlier taught to them like “Joining Ship OPL” will prompt the Officer to question this statement. Since no one will be able to answer his questions, the applicant will be placed in the investigation room where finger prints will be taken and searched for matches on their databases. An attempt to call MARINA is futile since most flights are scheduled when these offices are already closed. Without any finger print matching any criminal offenders, the applicants are then released where another agent is waiting outside the baggage area to fetch the new recruits and take them at the 16th floor of the Peoples Park Complex I where the envelop containing the contract and the Seaman’s Book are collected.
The following day, a quick interview will be held at the Step-UP office, a bottle of Chinese Balm is given out to each of the crew and then each will be delivered to the ports where their fishing vessels await.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment