Απασχόληση και λειτουργία της αγοράς ναυτικής εργασίας στην Ελλάδα

Μπιθούλκα, Χρυσούλα - Χρυσαυγή

Master Thesis

Author

Μπιθούλκα, Χρυσούλα - Χρυσαυγή

Date

2017-08

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to analyze maritime employment in Greece. More specifically, the aim of this dissertation was to identify and analyze the importance of maritime employment within both the wider context of the global shipping industry and the narrower context of the Greek shipping industry, providing the overall framework determining maritime employment, and assessing the trends and conditions of maritime employment in a both national and international context. The analysis indicated that the seafarers are very important for ship owners and the shipping industry in general. The occupation of seafarers is subject to many special characteristics, such as that seafarers do not have a particular geographical basis of their occupations, since they have to follow their ships all over the seas of the world. Moreover, seafarers need to operate modern and complex technologies, which makes them even more important for the safe operation of their ships. A main trend in the global maritime employment is the ability of ship owners to man their ships with crews of different nationalities, as well as their will to man them with low-cost crews from less developed countries. In an international context, the shipping industry is governed and regulated by a number of international authorities, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), while the basic convention of maritime employment within a global context is ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention, which was adopted by ILO in 2006. The Greek shipping industry is one of the most important industries for the Greek national economy, since it offers revenues and employment both directly and indirectly through the industries and sectors that are closely linked with the shipping industry. As far as maritime employment in Greece is concerned, a central characteristic identified is the decreasing number of Greek seafarers working on ships, mainly because of their highest cost compared with that of foreign seafarers coming from less developed countries. Greek candidates for the occupation of seafarers have the ability to get educated in the Greek Commercial Shipping Academies, which offer both theoretical and practical education. Despite the leading position of the Greek shipping industry within a global context, maritime employment in Greece is still subject to major problems, such as seafarers’ fatigue due to the increased obligations and challenges of their occupation, and the competition that Greek seafarers have to face from their foreign counterparts. Next to that, educational and overall conditions in the Greek Commercial Shipping Academies are not the optimal ones, while governmental budget for such academies and the education of seafarers in general is low. The above, combined with the low education opportunities that seafarers of lower hierarchical levels are subject to, form additional problems that the Greek maritime employment is subject to. Within the above context, it is recommended that the Greek state shall enhance the reduction of the cost of Greek seafarers and the taxes that Greek ship owners have to face, while the increased promotion of women in seafarers’ positions could help ship owners in dealing with the shortages of skilled and experienced labour they currently face. What is more, this dissertation recommends that working conditions on ships shall improve, while it is also considered as highly necessary for educational conditions in the Greek shipping academies to also improve, while at the same time further promoting the establishment and operation of private shipping schools and academies.

Postgraduate Studies Programme

Ναυτιλία

Department

Σχολή Ναυτιλίας και Βιομηχανίας. Τμήμα Ναυτιλιακών Σπουδών

Number of pages

Language

Greek

URI

https://dione.lib.unipi.gr/xmlui/handle/unipi/10895

Collections

Τμήμα Ναυτιλιακών Σπουδών

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