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Impediments to free movement of Chinese seafarers in the maritime labour market

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Zhiwei Zhao Open the ORCID record for Zhiwei Zhao [Opens in a new window] ,
David Walters  and
Desai Shan
Zhiwei Zhao*
Affiliation:
Dalian Maritime University, China; University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
David Walters
Affiliation:
Cardiff University, UK
Desai Shan
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Canada
*
Zhiwei Zhao, Logistics Research Institute, Transportation Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China. Emails: zhaozhiwei2006@hotmail.com; zhao@health.sdu.dk
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Abstract

With economic reform, in China, labour turnover of seafarers became more possible. However, little attention has been paid to its consequences. A limited literature indicates that Chinese seafarers may leave state-owned enterprises to become freelance seafarers, working in the global labour market for better wages and employment conditions. There have been predictions of a substantial increase in seafarer export, with China becoming the top labour supplier to the global maritime industry. However, such expectations have been largely unmet. Through 157 qualitative interviews with seafarers and managers in Chinese ship crewing agencies, we explore some reasons why this may be so. The findings suggest that Chinese seafarers are in fact limited in their willingness and ability to leave their companies. This is due to a complex mixture of organisational, regulatory, infrastructural and personal contexts that are their everyday experience of work in China. Analysis further suggests that the underdevelopment of a national regulatory infrastructure and welfare support mechanism for seafarers, along with poor implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, combine to limit the extent of the reform of the Chinese seafaring labour market. Together, these factors help to explain why China’s seafaring labour export has been far lower than anticipated.

Keywords

D40E24F66J61J83Chinese seafarerslabour turnoverseafaring labour exportseafaring labour market reform
Type
Further peer-reviewed article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 31 , Issue 3: The Future of Work , September 2020 , pp. 425 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020

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