The global financial crisis that destroyed job opportunities and removed peoples’ sense of financial security has opened the door for a new cultural boom. States hardest hit by the recession are seeing more and more of their people leave. Ireland, Greece and Spain are experiencing 25-year-high emigration rates. Many immigrants, young adults in particular, have left their homes behind in hopes of applying their degrees in careers abroad. The report notes that immigrants will go where the jobs are. Even retirees are opting to live abroad for better living conditions.

The United States, Canada and Australia have been home to the largest ethnic immigrants, but new places are becoming economically attractive such as in South America and Southeast Asia. Some governments have gone so far as to tell their young people to leave their home country. They believe that immigration provides a social safety valve for the home country, lifting stress from social service programs while decreasing unemployment rate. For many immigrants, particularly young adults, hearing your elected officials telling you to leave your country is very startling and disheartening. But whether they settle permanently or not is depending on the economies of their home countries compared to their newly adopted ones. Immigration Services organizations that offers immigrants practical and legal advice felt the boom as the demand of their services increased.

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An international consortium of research institutes is to carry out further research into the problem of seafarer fatigue. The research will address concerns about fatigue-related incidents and accidents against the background of increasing pressure from competitive voyage schedules. Professor Mike Barnett of Southampton Solent University said that the new project aimed to produce recommendations: "that can be used to benefit the welfare of seafarers, increase the shipping industry’s management of fatigue and increase maritime industry safety.”

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Tidbits:

G.R. No. 155389      February 28, 2005DMA SHIPPING PHILIPPINES, INC. and MONSOON MARITIME SERVICES PTE. LTD. vs.
HENRY CABILLAR and NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION (Courtesy of Atty. Fidel Borja)

We agree with the petitioners that the respondent was dismissed for a just cause. It is not disputed that the respondent joined the strike of the gantry crane operators in their demand for an increase of their pay despite the request of the petitioners for the respondent to convince the striking crew members to stop their strike and to air their grievances with management upon the arrival of the vessel in Singapore. The respondent and the crew members refused and continued with the strike. The loading and unloading of cargoes had to be suspended. It bears stressing that under their Employment  Contracts, the crew and officers of the vessel bound themselves to  follow the procedures for their grievances x xx.

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Another year of God’s blessing to the youngest daughter of our new EX-O Bert G. Belderol. Congratulations.