编者按：新加坡高级海员联合会（SMOU）成立于1951年，在促进海员与雇主之间保持良好的国际关系方面扮演着关键性的角色。据了解，目前该会已拥有超过26,000名成员。SMOU在中国的活动非常活跃，近年来，在中国武汉、南通等地分别与当地劳务公司、海事院校共同成立三方培训机构，为培育高素质海员做出了卓越的贡献。近日，航运在线邀请该会秘书长/执行总裁郑维华做客《航运会客厅》，与航运在线网友分享了SMOU的发展、以及其对中国海员的评价。
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背景介绍：郑维华，新加坡海员联合会秘书长/执行总裁。
航运在线：请您向航运在线网友介绍一下新加坡高级海员联合会是一个什么性质的组织？
郑维华： 新加坡高级海员联合会（SMOU）是一个拥有不断增长的会员和充满活力的前景的全球性先进联盟组织，我会成立于1951年，旨在维护广大海员的利益和工作体面，在促进海员与雇主之间保持良好的国际关系方面扮演着关键性的角色，我会通过与海运公司集体谈判达成协议，进而提高海员和雇员的工资并改善工作条件。SMOU通过与当地、地区和国际海事组织间强大的三方协作，很好的促进了海员和雇主、船东和管理公司，以及政府之间的关系。
Thomas Tay： The Singapore Maritime officers’ Union (SMOU) is a progressive global union with a growing membership and a dynamic vision. Established in 1951 to safeguard the interest and well-being of seafaring officers, SMOU plays a pivotal role in promoting good industrial relations between members and their employers, improving the wages and working conditions of members in the maritime industry through collective bargaining agreements with shipping companies which employ them. SMOU promotes good industrial relations between seafarers (members) and their employers, the ship-owners and ship-management companies, and the governments through its strong tripartite relationships with the local, regional and international maritime community.
航运在线：新加坡高级海员联合会如何维护海员的利益？
郑维华：SMOU通过集体协议来保护海员的福利待遇。我们确保他们的各项福利在合同中以及在职期间能够受到关注，他们在船上的工作条件，工资，休息时间，技能提升的机会能够得到保障。为其提供晋级进修补助或津贴，尽可能地提高他们的竞争能力和就业能力,从而保障海员有更好的待遇。SMOU旨在保护海员远离任何形式的剥削和不公平待遇。SMOU 至 2000年，帮助海员讨回710万美元被拖欠的工资。
Thomas Tay：SMOU protects the welfare the seafarers through collective agreements. We ensure that the welfare of the seafarers are taken care of in their terms and condition of work onboard ships, wages, rest hours, their skill upgrading opportunities and assist them with grants or subsidies for them to upgrade themselves as much as possible to improve their competency, their employability, resulting in better wages for our seafarers. SMOU seeks to protect the seafarers from any forms of exploitation and unfair treatment. Dating back to 2000, SMOU has helped seafarers recover some US$7.1millon in unpaid wages.
航运在线：请分析一下中、新两国对于海员教育、培训的差异以及新加坡海员的国际竞争力。
郑维华：新加坡是一个小国家，有庞大的海员需求，但我们无法像中国一样提供海上劳动力。根据STCW马尼拉修正案，新的STCW强制海员培训包括学习电子海图显示和如何反海盗。我觉得，中国政府在海事培训基础设施上的投资增加了中国海员的质量。传统上，海事课程在中国运用汉语授课，航海是一个全球性产业，现在中国正在探索和鼓励实施用英语授课以培养能与多国籍海员合作的能力。新加坡高级海员联合会(SMOU)有专业的培训师和装备进行英语培训，我们已经准备与我们的合作伙伴在中国的培训项目中分享我们的资源。在新加坡，虽然我们的海员数量很小，但是我们在海事方面探索不同的培训和教育途径能给新加坡人更好的就业机会，使他们再次就业的时候能拥有更好的工作，待遇和工资。。中、新两国可以共同合作，在海事教育中使用英语授课来提高中国海员的竞争力。
Thomas Tay：Singapore is a small country, there is a great demand for seafarers but we are unable to produce the seafaring labour numbers like China. With the STCW Manila Amendments, the new STCW compulsory trainings include electronic chart displays and anti-piracy which the seafarers have to learn. My observation is that China’s Government’s investment in maritime training infrastructure increased the quality of trained Chinese seafarers. Traditionally, maritime courses are conducted in the Chinese language in China, with maritime being a global industry, now China is exploring and encouraged to conduct the maritime training classes in the English language for integration with multi-national crews. SMOU works with professional trainers that are equipped to conduct the classes in the English language and is more than ready to share our resources having already worked with partners in China on training projects. In Singapore, although we produce a smaller number of seafaring officers, we explore different training and educational pathways into the maritime industry to give Singaporeans better employment opportunities, to give them a second chance at life to have better jobs at sea with better wages. Both Singapore and China can work together in terms of increasing Chinese seafarers’ competitiveness through the inculcating of English into the maritime education syllabus.
航运在线：请谈一谈目前国际海运总体趋势对海员市场的影响以及您对中国海员的总体评价；
郑维华：当前航运业正在经历经济困难时期。当雇主和海员公司将面临着更多的财务困境，预期海员在岸上会有更长的假期，可能会出现更多的拖欠工资的现象，我们必须要让海员做好思想准备，有一些航运公司可能会破产。
在过去的几年，中国无论在培训、基础设施包括设备、技术和质量标准上迅速提升，因为能够培育出更多高素质海员，以适应全球航运的需求。中国海员的工资也涨了，因为中国海事支持服务发展速度惊人，对经验丰富的航海人才需求不断增加，丰富的航海经验和岸上工作机会使他们能够拥有很高的工资，还有一个推动海员上岸工作的因素，现在中国有很多高级海员在岸上工作，这也加深了海员“弃船上岸”的想法。通过我的观察我觉得在过去的5年里，中国海员的英语能力得到普遍改善，因此高级海员变得非常抢手。
Thomas Tay：The shipping industry is currently going through difficult economic times. Seafarers can expect longer shore leave in between deployments and shipping companies face more financial difficulties. There may be more cases of unpaid wages, we must prepare our seafarers for the possibility of their shipping employers going bankrupt. China has improved rapidly over the past few years both in terms of training, infrastructure, including equipment, technology and quality standards and therefore able to produce high quality Chinese seafarers that are in demand by global shipping. In view of the global shortage of seafaring officers, the demand for maritime officers from China is ever increasing. The wages have also gone up and because China’s maritime support services have been growing tremendously, there is an increased demand for experienced seafaring officers ashore because of their sailing experience and because of the job opportunities ashore with high wages offered, there is a pull factor for seafaring officers to come ashore to work and many of the Chinese officers are now working ashore. This may amplify the perception that Chinese seafarers do not stay long at sea. My observation is also that the competency of English standards amongst the Chinese seafaring officers has improved rapidly over the last 5 years. Therefore making Chinese officers very much sought after by shipping employers.
航运在线：对于如何造就高素质海员，有哪些良好的建议和看法；
郑维华：这里我着重强调的一点是培训和能力的提升，不仅是通过雇主也包括海员自身。海员必须要经常提升技能，考虑继续教育和培训。对于一个海员来说，航海并不意味着职业生涯的结束。一个海员需要不断地培训，跟上船舶设备和海事管理技能的进步，因为他们最终还是得返回岸上工作，因此需要充分考虑长期的职业前景。现在越来越多的海事局与雇主建立适当的培训机构，中国海员更应不断提升自己的能力，确保他们的全球竞争力。
There has to be an emphasis on training and upgrading of the seafarers not only by the employers but by the seafarers as well. Seafarers must seek to upgrade their skills on a regular basis and consider continuing education and training. Sailing is not the end of the career path for a seafaring officer. A seafaring officer should continuously train to keep up with the technological advances of the ship equipments as well as maritime management skills for their longer term career prospects when they return ashore. As much as the maritime authorities now work with employers to establish appropriate training structures, the Chinese seafarers should seek to be more forthcoming and seek to upgrade themselves to remain competitive amidst global competition.
航运在线：工作之余，您有哪些爱好（比如跑步、书画），可不可以与网友分析一下。
郑维华：我喜欢打高尔夫、与朋友聊天以及结识新朋友。我还喜欢品尝各式各样真实和独特的食物。
Thomas Tay：Some of my hobbies include playing golf, networking with people and meeting new people. I am also interested in trying all kinds of authentic and unique foods.
航运在线：非常感谢您接受我们的采访。
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