IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecolab/v33y2022i2p272-289.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Forgotten keyworkers: the experiences of British seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Helen Devereux

    (Warsash Maritime School, Solent University, UK)

  • Emma Wadsworth

    (Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Solent University, UK)

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic the UK Government designated seafarers as keyworkers. This article explores their experiences in an industry operating under international legislation designed to ensure and maintain their employment and working conditions. Three hundred and fifty-two British seafarers completed an online questionnaire. The findings revealed two key themes: the erosion of the terms and conditions of those who work at sea, and the differing experiences of those who were precariously employed on single voyage contracts in comparison to those in permanent employment. In contrast with precariously employed individuals, more seafarers with permanent contracts were joining the vessel as normal and fewer were not being paid having been unable to join a ship as scheduled. In a similar vein, fewer permanently employed seafarers were adversely financially impacted during the pandemic. The article concludes that those with the weakest employment relationships have experienced the greatest challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic–a scenario which was possible as a result of the limited enforcement of the regulatory framework intended to protect those who work at sea.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Devereux & Emma Wadsworth, 2022. "Forgotten keyworkers: the experiences of British seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(2), pages 272-289, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:33:y:2022:i:2:p:272-289
    DOI: 10.1177/10353046221079136
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10353046221079136
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10353046221079136?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wu, Bin & Winchester, Nik, 2005. "Crew study of seafarers: a methodological approach to the global labour market for seafarers," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 323-330, July.
    2. Carolyn AE Graham & David Walters, 2021. "Representation of seafarers’ occupational safety and health: Limits of the Maritime Labour Convention," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(2), pages 266-282, June.
    3. Wayne Lewchuk, 2017. "Precarious jobs: Where are they, and how do they affect well-being?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 402-419, September.
    4. Marcus Oldenburg & Hans-Joachim Jensen & Ute Latza & Xaver Baur, 2009. "Seafaring stressors aboard merchant and passenger ships," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 54(2), pages 96-105, April.
    5. David Walters & Nick Bailey, 2013. "Lives in Peril," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-35729-8, December.
    6. Hassink, Wolter & Kalb, Guyonne & Meekes, Jordy, 2020. "The Dutch Labour Market Early on in the COVID-19 Outbreak: Regional Coronavirus Hotspots and the National Lockdown," IZA Discussion Papers 13673, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Helen Devereux & Emma Wadsworth, 2021. "Work scheduling and work location control in precarious and ‘permanent’ employment," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(2), pages 230-246, June.
    2. Li, Xue & Zhou, Yusheng & Yuen, Kum Fai, 2022. "A systematic review on seafarer health: Conditions, antecedents and interventions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 11-25.
    3. Laia Ollé-Espluga & Johanna Muckenhuber & Markus Hadler, 2021. "The ‘economy for the common good’, job quality and workers’ well-being in Austria and Germany," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(1), pages 3-21, March.
    4. Antonio Ariza-Montes & Gabriele Giorgi & Felipe Hernández-Perlines & Javier Fiz-Perez, 2019. "Decent Work as a Necessary Condition for Sustainable Well-Being. A Tale of Pi(i)gs and Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Stephan, Ute & Tavares, Susana M. & Carvalho, Helena & Ramalho, Joaquim J.S. & Santos, Susana C. & van Veldhoven, Marc, 2020. "Self-employment and eudaimonic well-being: Energized by meaning, enabled by societal legitimacy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    6. Mikołajczak, Paweł, 2022. "Determinants of precarious employment in social enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 398-408.
    7. Eva Padrosa & Francesc Belvis & Joan Benach & Mireia Julià, 2021. "Measuring precarious employment in the European Working Conditions Survey: psychometric properties and construct validity in Spain," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 543-562, April.
    8. Andrea Bazzoli & Tahira M. Probst & Jasmina Tomas, 2022. "A Latent Profile Analysis of Precarity and Its Associated Outcomes: The Haves and the Have-Nots," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Jordy Meekes & Wolter H J Hassink & Guyonne Kalb, 2023. "Essential work and emergency childcare: identifying gender differences in COVID-19 effects on labour demand and supply," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(2), pages 393-417.
    10. Mikko Myllylä & Heikki Kyröläinen & Tommi Ojanen & Juha-Petri Ruohola & Olli J. Heinonen & Petteri Simola & Tero Vahlberg & Kai I. Parkkola, 2022. "The Effects of Individual Characteristics of the Naval Personnel on Sleepiness and Stress during Two Different Watchkeeping Schedules," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Marcus Oldenburg & Hans-Joachim Jensen, 2019. "Stress and Strain among Seafarers Related to the Occupational Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-9, March.
    12. Desai Shan & Pengfei Zhang, 2021. "Enforcing workers’ compensation rights for Chinese seafarers in human resource supply chains," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(2), pages 247-265, June.
    13. Yuan Gu & Dongbei Liu & Guoping Zheng & Chuanyong Yang & Zhen Dong & Eugene Y. J. Tee, 2020. "The Effects of Chinese Seafarers’ Job Demands on Turnover Intention: The Role of Fun at Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-14, July.
    14. Maarten Goos & Melanie Arntz & Ulrich Zierahn & Terry Gregory & Stephanie Carretero Gomez & Ignacio Gonzalez Vazquez & Koen Jonkers, 2019. "The Impact of Technological Innovation on the Future of Work," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2019-03, Joint Research Centre.
    15. Desai SHAN, 2022. "Occupational safety and health challenges for maritime key workers in the global COVID‐19 pandemic," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 161(2), pages 267-287, June.
    16. Mondli Hlatshwayo, 2020. "Workers’ education under conditions of precariousness: Re-imagining workers’ education," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 96-113, March.
    17. Tan, Zhi Ming & Aggarwal, Nikita & Cowls, Josh & Morley, Jessica & Taddeo, Mariarosaria & Floridi, Luciano, 2021. "The ethical debate about the gig economy: A review and critical analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Despina Tumanoska, 2021. "The Effect of Covid-19 on Precarious Workers in North Macedonia," Finance Think Policy Studies 2021-06/36, Finance Think - Economic Research and Policy Institute.
    19. Waad K. Ali & K. Bruce Newbold, 2020. "Geographic variations in precarious employment outcomes between immigrant and Canadian‐born populations," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(5), pages 1185-1213, October.
    20. Virginia Gunn & Bertina Kreshpaj & Nuria Matilla-Santander & Emilia F. Vignola & David H. Wegman & Christer Hogstedt & Emily Q. Ahonen & Theo Bodin & Cecilia Orellana & Sherry Baron & Carles Muntaner , 2022. "Initiatives Addressing Precarious Employment and Its Effects on Workers’ Health and Well-Being: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-35, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Precarious work; regulation;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:33:y:2022:i:2:p:272-289. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.