Sir, - The main tourist season is about to open once again in Ireland, and we all hope that the awful events of September 11th will not damage one of our main industries. Many jobs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic depend on the tourist trade.
Among the welcome visitors are an increasing number who come on luxury cruise liners. These floating palaces, with their rich passengers willing to spend money in local businesses, are always welcome in any Irish port.
However, while some cruise operators run their business well and are good employers, there are others for whom the outward glamour often hides a dark reality.
Many crew members endure long working hours, poor pay, inedible food, unsafe working conditions and a denial of basic human rights. Many of these seafarers come from the poorer parts of the world and often have to pay a lump sum of up to €1,500 to manning agents just to get the job in the first place. Mostly they have to borrow this money and pay is so low that to repay it they effectively work the first three or four months for nothing.
Some, particularly in catering and cleaning, earn as little as €400 a month and depend on tips from passengers for their and their families' survival.
A recent survey by the International Transport Workers Federation (to which SIPTU is affiliated) revealed that 95 per cent of cruise line crew members work seven days a week. Sixty-five per cent work over 10 hours a day and 29 per cent work more than 12 hours. Thirty per cent report getting less than six hours' rest a day. Many complain of sub-standard food, of having to pay for medical examinations, having to pay their own air fares to join the ship, and of receiving no pay at all if they fall ill.
Seafarers often face reprisals if they seek help from trade unions in any port or from international trade union organisations. Often this takes the form of blacklisting the seafarer, who will then lose his or her livelihood.
Many luxury liner operators deliberately avoid registering their ships in their own countries, opting instead to fly the flag of a country that does not adopt the recommendations and conventions of United Nations bodies such as the International Labour Organisation and the International Maritime Organisation. It is the laws of the country of registration that apply on board a ship.
So next time you see a liner in any of our ports, do what comes naturally and admire the style and elegance of what you see before you, but then think of what might be happening in the hidden world on the lower decks.
Anyone who would like more information on this subject can please contact the undersigned on 051- 875946 or 087-6794426 or look up our website www.itf.org.uk. - Yours, etc.,
TONY AYTON,
ITF Inspector,
Connolly Hall,
Summerhill,
Waterford.