Cruises, anti-unemployment lifesaver

Genoa - Msc Cruises is promising six thousand jobs in the next four years. Crew will be needed for the four new ships that will be delivered between 2017 and 2019, and there will be additional crew required for another four ships that will each be extended by 30 meters as part of the Renaissance program of 2014-2015. These profiles are ones typically requested for this kind of ship. In addition to the traditional crew, the company will be taking on staff to cover all the tasks required of a small holiday town, from the commander to the officers, from the doctor to the cooks, from the domestic staff to the entertainment team. In addition, 10% of the hiring will be of land-based staff, mostly at the company’s main offices in Naples, Genoa and Geneva. This announcement is in sharp contrast to the unemployment problems in Italy and it confirms the growth potential of the shipping sector. Last February, another Italian company, Costa Crociere (Carnival), announced 1,200 new jobs wth the launch of their new cruise ship Costa Diadema next November and it opened a new job website: www.career.costacrociere.it. Another company of the Carnival group, Aida, will be offering more jobs between 2015 and 2016 for the launch of two slightly smaller ships than the Diadema, both flying the Italian flag.

But how many Italians will actually be employed by Msc? The company explains that the job offer is open worldwide. Applicants just need to send their resume to the email address cruiserecruitment@mscsorrento.com. One of the key requirements is a good level of English. The Msc press release indicates that out of the current payroll of 16,300 employees, around 10,000 are Italians. But it is quite possible that this percentage will not be maintained in the future. Roberto Luvini, leader of maritime workers of the national Filt-Cgil, said: “if it were [maintained], I’d be happy, but I’m surprised that there are even 10,000 Italians on the MSC ships. There were very few on the ships I visited”. Remo Di Fiore, Italian leader of the international union ITF, provides a more probable percentage: “Italians make up between 35 and 40% of the workers on MSC ships”. Doing the maths, this round of recruitment could result in between 1,850 and 2,100 jobs being offered to Italians, in addition to those on the ground offices.

Most of the six thousand openings are obviously for less qualified jobs: 1,400 waiters, 1,000 as cabin crew and various hotel staff, 1,000 between kitchen staff and cook assistants, and another 1,000 for the so-called public areas like for instance the casinos, shops, and entertainment areas for passengers. There are also 20 high command professionals (commanders, chief engineer officers, hotel managers), 15 doctors, 80 officers, dozens of hotel managers, financial managers, sommeliers and chefs, 150 technicians, etc. If the ships are flying the Italian flag, the percentage of Italian workers should indeed be higher. Traditionally, MSC registers its ships in Panama. In the past, there have been discussions about imposing registration of new units with the international Italian register, however it did not happen. It is rumoured that Confitarma estimates did create a serious backlash to the same register, which allows companies to access public funds to pay the social security contributions of staff. Today, the Ministry of Transport pays 300 million euros per year to the INPS to cover these expenses. An extra 1,000 MSC employees would have caused this figure to soar.