Working conditions on foreign vessels raised again

A crack down on the working conditions of crew of foreign registered vessels docking at New Zealand ports has led to the recovery of around $126,000 in back pay owed to crew members.

International Transport Workers’ Federation inspectors from Australia and New Zealand have boarded three ships in Bluff, Tauranga and Lyttelton in a week long exercise.

Inspector Graham McLaren says they’ve come across a number of issues during similar inspections in the past.

“Quite often there’s unpaid wages, quite often these guys have been on board long over their contract periods, and they want to get home but their company won’t let them.

“There’s been issues of harassment, bullying, all sorts of things – you name we’ve done it.”

McLaren says they boarded ships in Bluff, Tauranga and Lyttelton in a week long exercise.

He says the one in Lyttelton had unpaid wages and allotments.

They found people who’d been on board for a year without a break when their contract was for nine months.

McLaren says they also came across people being paid youth rates when they were adults.
Source: New Zealand News