El conflicto en Medio Oriente está elevando las ofertas de compensación en el mercado de bunker, ya que la volatilidad de los precios del petróleo amplía los márgenes, según Vernon Jayanathan, director de Maritime Recruitment Company Ltd.

En una entrevista con Ship & Bunker, Jayanathan dijo que las empresas de bunker que se están beneficiando de la volatilidad del mercado están aumentando las ofertas salariales, en particular para traders con experiencia.

"Salaries have increased mostly in Southeast Asia, where it's up by nearly 30%, and in Europe by roughly 30%," Jayanathan said.

"For experienced traders, it's very competitive.

"There's demand for seniors who have the relationships, who have the experience, who have the cool heads, and they can command high salaries.

"At the same time, firms are seeing the value of them, so they're doing their best to retain them."

Dijo que la demanda de traders en Medio Oriente sigue siendo sólida a pesar de que la guerra en Irán está obstaculizando la oferta en la región, lo que subraya cómo la disrupción regional está moldeando tanto la contratación como las condiciones de negociación.

"For seniors it is, for very senior people who are insiders in the region," Jayanathan said. "People who have the network, have the knowledge, have the relationship; that's particularly important in the Middle East."

Junior bunker traders

La contratación de junior bunker traders también ha aumentado.

Jayanathan dijo que programas como el Monjasa Oil and Shipping Traineeship han tenido éxito en los últimos años, lo que ha llevado a más empresas a adoptar iniciativas similares mientras buscan construir una cantera de personal en lugar de depender solo de la contratación lateral.

"More and more people are setting up graduate schemes for them," he said. "The idea of that is to keep them on board, and try to elicit loyalty."

Las cláusulas de no competencia pierden peso

Las cláusulas de no competencia, que antes se veían como una restricción importante a la movilidad laboral, están perdiendo relevancia, dijo Jayanathan.

"People don't mention their non-competes so much to me when they're leaving now," he said. "Some have actually mentioned that a couple of the big players have eased off on them.

"For the people I have spoken to who I'm putting into positions or sending CVs across, non-competes have not been something that they have been concerned with, whereas last year it was one of the first things that they used to talk about."

Consejo para quienes buscan empleo y para empleadores

Para los bunker traders que están considerando un cambio, Jayanathan dijo que el mercado actual podría ser atractivo para quienes tienen experiencia y una red de contactos, pero solo si no están satisfechos con su empleador actual.

"If you've got experience, a network and the appetite to make a jump, then this could be a rewarding time for you," he said. "But you have to weigh up your own personal situation.

"If you're happy where you are, stay, because no doubt you're getting looked after."

Para los empleadores que contratan nuevo personal, recomendó cautela.

"Make sure you do your due diligence, because the last thing you want to do is pick up the wrong hire," he said. "Check them on ethics and compliance, because you cannot afford in this day and age to have your name sullied.

"Make that bet accordingly."

Jayanathan escribió sobre este tema para Ship & Bunker a principios de este año.

También dijo que la retención depende de algo más que el salario.

"If you want to retain your staff, you need to make more of an effort to treat them well, and not just financially but generally," he said. "You have to look at stuff like culture and environment; whether your organisation is a meritocracy, whether you're treating all your staff equally or whether there's an insider group that you treat particularly well."

"People will not leave just for money."