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“Cruise from hell”: Don’t pity Carnival’s passengers!
by Rishi Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:31 am
“For the workers, it had to be doubly horrible compared to the passengers,” said Ross Klein, the author of “Paradise Lost at Sea: Rethinking Cruise Vacations.” Klein, a sociologist and cruise expert at Newfoundland’s Memorial University, noted that workers are stuck dealing with passengers’ “human mess” as well as their “frayed nerves and the short tempers.” Despite the stench of human waste, some workers may not have had the freedom, or the opportunity, to go above deck.
In addition, Klein told Salon, “my guess is on this cruise there were no gratuities, so they ended up working for free.” When Carnival announced that each passenger would receive $500 on top of a refund, said Klein, “I didn’t hear them saying they’re giving $500 to each crew member for their valiant efforts … In what appeared to be deplorable conditions, the workers had to keep on doing their work, and [they were] very likely being subjected to conditions that were a threat to their health, [and] also probably working considerably more than their mandatory 11-hour workday.”
Carnival did not respond to a noon request for comment.
As that 11-hour workday suggests, cruise labor is no picnic to begin with. According to Klein, workers often share small rooms with no windows. They’re restricted from entering passenger areas, and some only rarely get to see daylight. Sexual assault rates outpace those on U.S. shores. While some companies, including Carnival, give customers bills that include an optional suggested tip, “if one worker has a number of passengers decreasing tips, they’re going to be punished for that.” Klein added that tips sometimes end up in management’s pockets rather than workers’.
The international law governing cruise workers allows them to be worked up to 77 hours a week for as little as $600 a month. As Klein notes, that comes to less than $2 an hour. But in reality, he said, “a worker who’s slated as supposedly working 11 hours is very likely working 13 or 14,” and may go “10 or 12 months without a day off.”
Isn’t that illegal? Sort of. Because Carnival and other top cruise lines operating in the U.S. fly the flags of other countries, they aren’t bound by most American labor laws (there are exceptions, including workplace injury cases). And while international convention sets bare minimums like the $600 per month wage, Klein says, “the enforcement of them depends on the country that regulates the ship.” Klein added that Carnival, the industry leader, is also “the leader in knowing how to keep your costs of worker treatment to a minimum.”
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/15/cruise_from_hell_dont_pity_carnivals_passengers/
In addition, Klein told Salon, “my guess is on this cruise there were no gratuities, so they ended up working for free.” When Carnival announced that each passenger would receive $500 on top of a refund, said Klein, “I didn’t hear them saying they’re giving $500 to each crew member for their valiant efforts … In what appeared to be deplorable conditions, the workers had to keep on doing their work, and [they were] very likely being subjected to conditions that were a threat to their health, [and] also probably working considerably more than their mandatory 11-hour workday.”
Carnival did not respond to a noon request for comment.
As that 11-hour workday suggests, cruise labor is no picnic to begin with. According to Klein, workers often share small rooms with no windows. They’re restricted from entering passenger areas, and some only rarely get to see daylight. Sexual assault rates outpace those on U.S. shores. While some companies, including Carnival, give customers bills that include an optional suggested tip, “if one worker has a number of passengers decreasing tips, they’re going to be punished for that.” Klein added that tips sometimes end up in management’s pockets rather than workers’.
The international law governing cruise workers allows them to be worked up to 77 hours a week for as little as $600 a month. As Klein notes, that comes to less than $2 an hour. But in reality, he said, “a worker who’s slated as supposedly working 11 hours is very likely working 13 or 14,” and may go “10 or 12 months without a day off.”
Isn’t that illegal? Sort of. Because Carnival and other top cruise lines operating in the U.S. fly the flags of other countries, they aren’t bound by most American labor laws (there are exceptions, including workplace injury cases). And while international convention sets bare minimums like the $600 per month wage, Klein says, “the enforcement of them depends on the country that regulates the ship.” Klein added that Carnival, the industry leader, is also “the leader in knowing how to keep your costs of worker treatment to a minimum.”
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/15/cruise_from_hell_dont_pity_carnivals_passengers/
Rishi- Posts : 5129
Join date : 2011-09-02
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