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Members’ Survey: Proud to be Seafarers and SIU Members

 

As our community of Canadian Seafarers continues to grow, we have been taking steps to be more informed on the opinions and thoughts of our members. Earlier this year, we launched our first members’ survey to better understand the needs of our members. Based on the results, the SIU has made some changes and took action to address members’ concerns.

 

As part of our commitment to serve members in the best way possible, we recently completed a second survey.

 

We asked our brothers and sisters how they regard the Union, its leadership, and how the Union communicates and conducts outreach. Over 200 members responded with essential feedback that will help us continue to deliver on our promises.

 

Overall, results from the September survey show that members are more satisfied with the SIU of Canada than they were in May of this year. A majority (45%) of the membership said the best part about being part of the SIU is that it protects their rights.

 

In the previous survey, members indicated they would like more engagement on ships. We listened and conducted training with Patrol Agents and Patrolmen so our members could have a more informed experience while working. The new survey results show members felt the difference. There is more satisfaction with the SIU of Canada’s executive team as well as Port Agents and Patrolmen, with more members feeling that patrol agents are friendly, positive and willing to answer their questions.

 

It was also important for us to see if members are enjoying their career. We learned that 4 out 5 seafarers are proud of their career, with 73% being proud to be a member of the SIU of Canada. This indicates about a 10% overall increase from the last survey results. Additionally, 88% of members plan to stay with the Union for next five years or more.

 

Trust in the SIU executive, including the President, is an important part of the union environment, which is why we wanted to know if you thought they were doing a good job. More than half the members believe the SIU executive including the President hears members’ feedback on policies and workplace issue and there is trust in the executive team to negotiate fair and reasonable contracts for the members.

 

Much of members’ feedback gave clear direction for improvement. We also heard members say they would like more communication from the Union, especially from the President. In the last survey, members indicated they would like greater email and social media engagement. Results show that members recognize the SIU of Canada has increased its social presence and improved the newsletter, The Sailor. But members still want more communication from leadership. They would like to hear more often from leadership and have leadership respond directly to their concerns.

 

We love seeing members engage with us across all platforms. The positive response to our efforts to provide up-to-date information to members is appreciated by the SIU and the survey shows members are getting the information they need.

 

SIU has implemented feedback from the first survey and this is shown in the results of the second survey. There are still areas to improve and members’ valuable feedback is key to ensuring that we’re moving forward in the right direction. We are going to take all feedback into account when making decisions for the future of our members.

 

If you’d like to receive email updates, please sign up by entering your email address at the bottom of the home page or sign up through our Facebook page. Members who do not currently receive email updates, but would like to, can email info@seafarers.ca to sign up.

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