78. Discipline on Board (cds-16)

Cruz: A few days ago I was dressed down by the Chief Officer because I was only

wearing an undershirt because it was so hot. He said 1 should always dress well,

even during meals. Santos: The First Engineer told me the same thing. He told me it looked bad if I went

around in my underwear. He said we must always wash our work clothes and keep

them clean.

C/Off: Hi. What are you two talking about? You look so serious. Cruz: About the dress code. You said we should always look neat. C/Off: That's right. We might have different opinions on style, but we all agree that dirty,

torn clothes look bad. Many people come on board when we are at port and they

will leave with a bad impression of both our ship and of our seamen's discipline if

we dress sloppily. Santos: What else should we be careful of? C/Off: The most important thing is to always be on time. Real seamen follow the "five

minutes ahead" rule. You should never be late. Cruz: I see, if we don't return to the ship in time for our departure, then the whole crew

suffers.

Santos: Besides, a person who is late won't even be able to get on board. C/Off: Yes, that's right. If you're not punctual, you're not a seaman. And, on board, we

live in a limited space, so we have to respect each other and try not cause any

trouble. For example, we shouldn't listen to loud music, bang doors, or leave our

clothing unattended in the washing machine..... Santos: Oh, no! My clothes in the washing machine must be finished by now. Excuse me,

I've got to mn!

was dressed down: reprimanded, somebody scolded me

serious: intense

dress code: set of rules about how to wear clothing

neat: nice and tidy, in good order

torn: cut, tattered, ripped into pieces

with a bad impression: not feeling good about something

discipline: controlled behavior, self-control, a set of rules and regulations

sloppily: in a disorderly manner, not neat

suffer: to feel the bad results of something

punctual: keeping the time, being on time

respect: to show reverence, to defer

leave...unattended: not pay attention to, to start something and then not watch over it

79. Working Conditions (cds-17)

3/Off: Second Officer, I know that our salaries are based upon our rank, but are our salaries any different from the Japanese crew?

2/Off: Yes, they are. They're different because of the Japanese system. In Japan, a company guarantees lifetime employment. Once an employee starts work for a company, he is guaranteed a job until retirement. And salaries are based on seniority. Salaries increase with the number of years the employee works for a company.

3/Off: So salaries don't vary according to rank, then?

2/Off: No, they don't. For seamen, however, the base salary varies depending on whether you are an officer or a crewmember.

3/Off: So once a person starts working for a company, their employment is secure?

2/Off: No, that's not exactly right, and lately, things have been changing. It seems that shipping companies cannot remain competitive unless they use a Western-style salary system. More companies have abandoned their seniority system and now apply wages based on job evaluation.

3/Off: Well, our contracts start at departure from Manila and finish at arrival at Manila. I think that the Japanese system is better.

2/Off: I agree.

3/Off: Yes, and Japanese salaries are generally much higher than ours.

2/Off: But you can't only compare salaries. You also have to take into account the living standards of each country. We can't say that Japanese seamen are richer than Filipino seamen because prices are much higher in Japan than in the Philippines.

salaries: wages, usu. paid on a monthly basis

rank: position, status

guarantee(s): to promise or secure

lifetime employment: a lifelong promise of work

retirement: to stop working after reaching a certain age

seniority: a job promotion system based on age or length of service

vary: to differ, to change

employment: having a job or work

competitive: able to compare favorably with others

job evaluation: judging how well a person is doing his job

contract: basic agreement between concerned parties

living standards: level of comfort, quality of life lived by people