Ships of shame
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) Australia won A$156,000 in back pay for exploited Asian crew on board two vessels in Australian ports during the first three days of its "Asia Pacific flag of convenience" campaign. The campaign ran for one week from November 16.
"That's more than $46,000 a day in back pay", said campaign coordinator Trevor Charles. "Negotiations are still continuing on other vessels, and even after the week of action is up, the inspections will be ongoing.
"We've got four inspectors covering 40 ports. There's seldom a day goes by without some action in support of the many exploited seafarers used to carry billions of dollars of Australian cargo", he added.
Charles said he was not surprised that Australian ITF inspectors had uncovered exploitation and underpayment on so many vessels in less than 70 hours of the campaign.
"It's an everyday experience. The majority of the world's seafarers are coming onto ships from Third World countries through crewing agents, and they are just not being paid the going rates."
The $156,000 will go to the Indian, Sri Lankan, Burmese and Chinese crew on board two vessels inspected in the ports of Geelong and Brisbane.
Since the week of action was announced, the ITF Australia has also negotiated wage agreements covering 21 vessels during inspection of 50 vessels in the ports of Adelaide, Bunbury, Fremantle, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville, Melbourne, Gladstone, Geraldton and Geelong.
Meanwhile, in Bombay, India, members of the Transport and Dock Workers Union have refused to work cargo on substandard ships targeted by the ITF. Three ships have been stuck alongside the docks for up to 36 hours to ensure that the ship owners seriously reconsider the working conditions of their crew.
The ITF uncovered that Bangladeshi seafarers on a pitiful wage of A$545 a month on one cargo ship were forced to sign undertakings to have nothing to do with the ITF.
ITF seafarer and docker affiliates in the Asia Pacific are targeting substandard ships and supporting maltreated, poorly paid crew throughout the week in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the ITF's flag of convenience campaign.
The ITF is a federation of the world's transport unions, representing more than 5 million workers in 120 nations.