The Irish economy is being subsidised by "third-world work practices" a union official claimed today after a ship arrested in Co Wexford was found not to have paid crew members for 10 weeks.
The Belize-registered MV Lilliancontainer vessel was arrested in New Ross on May 16 thbut concerns only became known when dock workers alerted Siptu last Thursday.
Port State Control arrested the Lillianafter an Irish firm refused to accept its cargo of steel because it was corroded. A subsequent inspection revealed the vessel, which had set sail from Turkey, had at least 15 structural defects and had been letting water into the cargo hold.
Ken Fleming of Siptu, which is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), inspected the Lillian on Monday and says he discovered there were two sets of books being kept aboard.
ITF-registered agreements aboard showed the workers had not been paid since they boarded at the start of April, and their rates and terms had been changed, Mr Fleming told ireland.com.
"The Captain was on $1,500 a month instead of $5,000, the chief engineer was on $2,000 a month instead of $4,000 and able seamen were on $1,000 a month instead of $1,750. The crew were absolutely terrified and afraid to speak out," Mr Fleming said.
The crewmen also had their hours of work doubled and their holiday rates halved. Mr Fleming described the vessel as "floating sweatshop" and said the crewmen were owed $4,600.
"This is another example of Ireland's economy being subsidised by third world work practices. It is only a matter of time before they spread ashore if we do not live up to our obligations in a sector that is vital to an island economy," he added.
The Russian crew of nine are employed by the Inter Balt Crewing Agency, through its St Petersburg office and the vessel is owned by a Russian firm called Highbridge.
A representative for the company's agent in Ireland, Stafford Shipping was not available for comment.
The Lilliancannot set sail until the defects have been repaired. A Department of Transport spokeswoman said Port State Control have yet been invited back to inspect the vessel.
Sinn Fein spokesman on workers' rights Arthur Morgan said Government inaction had contributed to the latest incident of mistreatment of seafarers.
"What makes this matter even worse is that this incident is just one in a substantial list of
sub-standard shipping incidents on Irish waters.
"I am now calling on the government to live up to its responsibilities and ensure that the workers aboard these vessels are protected and not forced into the current neglectful situation whereby the workers' human rights are disregarded completely just because they are seafarers and
not working on land," Mr Morgan said.
The MV Lillianwas the most recent example of a vessel in Irish waters being detained for failure to meet standards.
The ITF launched a week of action earlier this month to highlight the issue and last Saturday Fortuna Onesailed home after its 11-strong crew spent twelve weeks stranded in Ireland awaiting over $100,000 in unpaid wages.