EXPEDITION cruise ships and offshore oil and gas industries were among vessels the International Transport Workers Federation Inspectorate claims have underpaid seafarers an estimated total of US$60 million identified through a Week of Action, held along the West Australian coast.
MUA National Secretary and ITF President Paddy Crumlin said inspectors had also revealed exploitation of visa workers aboard ships working domestic routes in Australia using an obscure visa loophole.
The loophole being used by luxury expedition cruises has been identified by the Australian Coordinator of the International Transport Workers Federation Inspectorate as the method by which luxury expedition cruise operators are replacing Australian seafarers with what the MUA claims are vulnerable, foreign workers on the Australian coast.
Mr Crumlin said the ITF Inspectorate’s Week of Action had identified wage theft and mistreatment of visa workers aboard ships operating in the Australian coastal trade.
The ITF also claims offshore oil and gas companies are no playing foreign workers by refusing to acknowledge their entitlement to payment rates negotiated for by Australian unions, telling migrant workers they are only entitled to the base wage in the Award safety net.
The ITF is calling for urgent federal government intervention to stamp out the abuse of what it claims are vulnerable workers and to restore Australian seafarers to domestic shipping and tourism voyages.
“This type of corruption and manipulation of our employment and industrial laws to exploit vulnerable migrant workers is unconscionable, and those caught doing it must be pursued in the courts,” Mr Crumlin said.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman must investigate and prosecute these systemic abuses and manipulations of Australia’s workplace and immigration laws by major multinationals.
“As well as by rorting visa loopholes, ship owners have been shirking their responsibilities to pay seafarers properly by manipulating the temporary vessel licence scheme and refusing to pay rates of pay consistent with Australian industry benchmarks.
“We are seeing wild fluctuations in rates of pay from seafarer to seafarer, depending on what the ship owner or the tour operator thinks they can get away with.”
Co-ordinator of the Australian Inspectorate Ian Bray said by allowing shipowners to rort the visa system, Australian seafarers are being undercut by as much as 50%,
“Australian seafarers are being penalised for having strong unions and their jobs are being offshored by stealth, using a loophole in the maritime workforce visa system that is intended to allow foreign seafarers to briefly transit in and out of Australia to join or depart a bona fide international ship voyage,” Mr Bray said.
