Increased Remittances by 5.5% -- TUCP

According to Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), remittances by our own seamen has increased by 5.5% (that's roughly $41.851M) from $758M in 2008 to approximately $800M in same period this year. More on this story below from Inquirer.net.

Filipino seamen’s remittances up by 5.5%—TUCP
Source: Inquirer.net
26 May 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Remittances from Filipino sailors increased by 5.52 percent (or $41.851 million) to $800.535 million in the first quarter versus $758.684 million in the same period in 2008, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said Tuesday.

TUCP secretary-general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera said this is higher than the cash wired home by land-based migrant Filipino workers which grew by only 2.03 percent (or $64.697 million) to $3.256 billion in the first quarter compared to $3.191 billion in the same period in 2008.

"The rate of increase in remittances from sea-based Filipino workers abroad continues to outpace considerably the growth rate in money transfers from land-based laborers," he noted in a statement.

And Herrera attributed the continued growth in remittances from sea-based Filipino workers increased deployment on account of global demographics.

“Despite the severe global recession, compared to a decade ago, the world’s economy and population today are much larger, thus requiring more ships to move all sorts of commodities faster across continents,” he pointed out.

He also said a growing number of American, European, and Japanese sailors are fast approaching retirement age, and are being replaced wholesale by younger Filipinos.

"Western and Japanese sailors are also increasingly shunning jobs on board ships, preferring shipping desk or port-related jobs instead," he added.

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