Working Conditions

1. Read the dialogue and understand it in every detail.

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.

2. Match the words with their equivalents or definitions.

   	salaries		having a job or work
   	rank		to differ, to change
   	guarantee(s)		basic agreement between concerned parties
   	lifetime employment		a job promotion system based on age or length of service
   	retirement		a lifelong promise of work
   	seniority		level of comfort, quality of life lived by people
   	vary		to stop working after reaching a certain age
   	employment		to promise or secure
   	competitive		position, status
   	job evaluation		wages, usually paid on a monthly basis
   	contract		judging how well a person is doing his job
   	living standards		able to compare favorably with others

3. Find English equivalents for the following words and word combinations. Make up your own sentences using them.

1. заработная плата

2. конкурентный

3. отказаться

4. оценка

5. отъезд, отправление

6. прибытие, приезд

7. пенсия, отставка

8. отличаться

9. на основе

10. пожизненное трудоустройство

11. различаться

12. в зависимости от

13. принимать во внимание

14. сравнивать

15. уровень жизни

4. Answer the following questions based on the dialogue.

1. What did the seamen’s salaries depend on?

2. Why were the salaries of the Japanese crew different from the other crewmembers?

3. What is the Japanese seniority salary system based on?

4. How do the base salaries for seamen vary?

5. Why did Japanese shipping companies turn to a Western-style salary system?

6. What contracts do they apply to foreign crewmembers?

5. Convert the dialogue into Indirect Speech and retell the situation as a story.