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Work scheduling and work location control in precarious and ‘permanent’ employment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Helen Devereux Open the ORCID record for Helen Devereux [Opens in a new window]  and
Emma Wadsworth
Helen Devereux*
Affiliation:
Solent University, UK
Emma Wadsworth
Affiliation:
Solent University, UK
*
Helen Devereux, Solent University, East Park Terrace, Southampton SO14 0YN, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article explores the relationship between precarious employment and seafarers’ control over the scheduling and location of their work, and considers the implications of this relationship for their occupational health and safety. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 permanently and 17 precariously employed seafarers. In contrast with those on permanent contracts, seafarers employed by crewing agencies on temporary contracts were deployed at short notice and commenced work on vessels irrespective of whether they had experienced an adequate rest period at home. Such precariously employed seafarers were also deployed across the various sectors of the industry on unfamiliar vessels. Seafarers felt strongly that scheduling and location uncertainties were closely linked with increased risks to their safety and well-being, and it was clear that these areas of uncertainty were frequently experienced in combination, in particular, by those with precarious employment arrangements. The article, therefore, suggests that the widespread disorganisation of the employment relationship increases the occupational health and safety risks faced by those working in an already dangerous industry. It concludes that this lack of commitment by shipping companies to their workforce means that, for many seafarers, protection against these additional risks is effectively at the discretion of the captain on board.

Keywords

J81Occupational health and safetyprecarious employmentseafarertemporary work
Type
Labour rights of seafarers
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 32 , Issue 2: Configuring the Green New Deal , June 2021 , pp. 230 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020

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