The Tuvalu Overseas Seamen's Union (TOSU) is the only registered

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

. It represents workers on foreign ships, and has a membership of 600. The TOSU is affiliated with the International Transport Workers' Federation. Tuvaluans are well known for their seafaring skills, with the

Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute The Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute (TMTI) is on Amatuku motu, on Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. TMTI provides training to approximately 120 marine cadets each year, to provide them with the basic skills necessary for employment as seafarers on me ...

Amatuku Amatuku is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu on which the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute is located. Access to Amatuku is from Tengako, which is the peninsula at the north end of Fongafale Fongafale (also spelled Fogale or Fagafale) is the largest ...

motu (island),

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

, providing training to approximately 120 marine cadets each year so that they have the skills necessary for employment as seafarers on merchant shipping. TMTI now operates under the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute Act 2000. A number of Tuvaluans are employed as merchant seamen on cargo ships on contracts of up to 12 months. The

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

(ADB) estimates that 800 Tuvaluan men are trained, certified and active as seafarers. The ADB estimates that, at any one time, about 15 percent of the adult male population works abroad as seafarers. The Ahrenkiel Group of Germany is the shipping company that is the primary employer of Tuvaluan seafarers.

Tuvaluan merchant mariners

The Tuvalu Marine Training Institute (TMTI) provides Tuvaluan men with eight months of training to provide the basic level of maritime qualifications necessary for employment in the international maritime industry. The 1991 census of Tuvalu identified 272 seaman working on merchant shipping. In 2002 the Tuvaluan Overseas Seaman’s Union (TOSU) estimated the number as 417 seaman working on shipping. Remittances from seafarers is a major source of income for Tuvaluan families. However the

Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

has impacted on export/import activities with a resulting drop in job opportunities for Tuvaluan seaman merchant shipping. In 2011 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates there are 800 TMTI graduates registered for employment as seafarers. The ADB identify that the number of Tuvaluans employed as seafarers has decreased steadily from about 340 in 2001 to only 205 in 2010; so that of a total pool of 800 qualified seafarers, including those on leave, almost 450 were unemployed. This decline in seafarer employment has reduced remittances from $2.4 million in 2001 to a projected $1.2 million in 2010. The

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) also estimates that in 2010 there were approximately 200 Tuvaluan seafarers on ships. The

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

2014 Country Report described the effect of the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

(GFC) as reducing demand for the services of Tuvaluan seafarers. As of October 2013, there were about 112 Tuvalu seafarers working on cargo ships, compared to 361 in 2006. The consequence is that remittances from seafarers to their families in Tuvalu fell by about 9 percent of GDP for Tuvalu. In 2012 remittances from seafarers amounted to 10 percent of GDP in Tuvalu. Tuvaluan seafarers compete with seafarers from

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

and South and Southeast Asian countries. There are higher transport costs for Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati seafarers to travel to take up positions of ships put them as a disadvantage as compared to other seafarers. Structural changes to merchant shipping industry have occurred following the GFC with the industry suffering low profitability and overcapacity. The increasing automation of ship operations has also reduced the demand for Tuvaluan seafarers.

References

Additional sources

* {{Tuvalu topics Trade unions in Tuvalu International Transport Workers' Federation Seafarers' trade unions