KARACHI, March 28: The Pakistan Merchant Navy Officers Association has said that out of a total workforce of over 12,500, only around 2,000 officers were employed because of the local as well as international situation.

The association said that only around 250 officers were employed with the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, while over 1,300 were employed by foreign shipping companies.

It said that over 200 officers, who could not get ship-based jobs, were employed in land based industry and government offices in the country as well as in other countries.

Despite the high rate of unemployment, the competition is intense and students, who passed intermediate with science subjects, flock to the Pakistan Marine Academy to join as nautical as well as engineering cadets, spending over Rs200,000 over a two-year course. Only 100 are admitted.

After completing their PMA training, the luckier cadets could find jobs, earning between $125 and $200 a month. However, after qualifying various professional examinations and a fair amount of experience gained aboard ships, one could become a master or a ship's captain and chief engineer, earning somewhere between $5,000 and $6,000 a month.

The lack of job opportunities is attributed to certain inappropriate government policies because of the dwindling number of ships in the Pakistani merchant fleet. In 1970, the number of Pakistani ships had stood at 71 but currently the number stood at 13.

The diminishing number of ships in the PNSC fleet has also influenced the number of officers employed locally. In 1970s, over 1,700 officers were employed in the national fleet but presently it has come down to between 200 and 300.

The association said that while most of the country's foreign trade was dependent on ships, hardly around 10 per cent of the cargo was ferried in ships owned by the PNSC. The rest of the country's cargo was transported through privately-owned foreign ships.

The association's general secretary Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal said that officers were being marginalized as the PNSC was not acquiring new ships which could save a lot of foreign exchange presently being spent on carrying cargo by foreign-owned ships, adding that it would also help increase job opportunities for merchant navy officers.

He said that overseas employment opportunities had declined particularly after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks as many a western port had imposed restrictions on ships with Pakistani crew. Foreign ship-owners avoid now employ crew from other countries instead of hiring Pakistani officers.

Many countries took months for issuing visas to Pakistanis, which also discouraged foreign employers from employing them and instead they hire people from other countries.

Pointing towards another case of victimisation, he alleged that over 450 officers, who were employed on various ships before nationalization, were deprived of their seniority and other benefits, adding that in late 1970s, they were assimilated in the PNSC.

These officers, he said, were promised to restore their seniority and benefits in 1988 after many representations but to- date, the PNSC had not given them their arrears.

Referring to the high rate of unemployment, he said that the association had raised the issue with the federal ombudsman, who in 1982 had ordered the suspension of training for new cadets, but it was resumed again within the next few years. Now fresh cadets were bloating the already over-saturated job market.

He complained that in many countries, the duration of the duration of cadet training had been shortened to around 18 months but the PMA was still continuing with its 24-month training.

He said that the government was even hesitating in appointing a professional and experienced commandant of the academy. He said that according to the notification (extraordinary) April 10, 1989 SRO No 70 (KE) / 89 stated that officers holding certificates of competency for masters and chief engineers are eligible to join PMA as nautical and engineering instructors in BPS 19 through the Federal Public Service Commission. The higher post of commandant was to be filled only through promotions.

He said that even the post of commandant was currently held by the Commodore Syed Akhtar Siddiqui, who had been sent from the navy directly, which was not according to the rules.