Victorian union members have today backed the MUA campaign to end the extreme exploitation on Carnival Cruise ships based in Australia and will meet the Carnival Adventure when it arrives in Port Melbourne for the Australian Open tomorrow (Jan 21).
Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Organiser Shane Reside said "Carnival Cruises is paying its crew as little as $2.50 an hour to work on its Australian cruise ships. It's disgusting – this has got to be the worst labour exploitation we have ever seen, and it's happening in plain sight".
Carnival Cruises has three ships home-ported in Australia and exploits a loophole in the Coastal Trading Act flying workers in from some of the poorest economies on earth to work on short-term contracts sailing up and down the Australian coast. Workers have reported being made to work in excess of 10 hours a day for more than a month without break and going for weeks trapped working below deck without seeing daylight.
Danae Bosler, Assistant Secretary at Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) said "There is not a single ordinary Victorian who thinks that paying people $2.50 an hour to work in Australia is okay. This is such an extreme example of what billionaires will try and get away with if they think no one is looking. The Victorian union movement has a message for Carnival Cruises: if you think you can bring your ships of shame to Melbourne without a fight you've got another thing coming".
Adam Portelli, deputy CE from the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance stated that there are many Australian performers, musicians and backstage crew working on these ships alongside the international crew.
"We stand in support of our members' and their co-workers rights - including fair compensation for their work and good working conditions - regardless of their country of origin. Taking advantage of any worker via a legislative loophole is unacceptable, Mr Portelli said."
Shane said "Carnival has imported the labour conditions of Bali or Phuket to Australia but are still charging passengers Australian fares. Where does all that money go? Straight into the pockets of the multi-billionaire American owner. This is an ultra-profitable dirty racket, plain and simple".
"It's a shame for the Australian Open to be caught up in this kind of mess. When companies like Carnival behave like this it casts a cloud over all of us. We will not stop until this ugly exploitation is stamped out for good."
The demonstration will commence at 8am Wednesday 21 Jan at Station Pier, Port Melbourne.
