ITF Crew Exposed underpayment and Starvation in Australia

International Transport Workers’ Federation (hereinafter referred to as ITF) has reported another case of underpayment of the crew in Australia, involving the 80,000-tonnage bulk carrier “VillaDeste” at BHP Billiton Terminal in Queensland. The crew turned to ITF for help, and claimed that there was no food, no pay and only $ 4 a day for meals.

According to ITF, BHP Billiton Ltd has so far refused to comply with its inspection requirements. Currently, the ship is moored near BHP’s coal terminal in Haibint, located in Mackey, northern Queensland and will be docked on the 14th.

 Dean Summers, National Coordinator of ITF, said that the inspectors and welfare volunteers of ITF had the right to inspect ISPS and ships as clearly defined in Australia’s national security regulations. Although BHP claimed to have a set of boarding procedures, it still refused their request and questioned their legal boarding rights.

The owner of the Liberian-flagged “Villa Deste” is the Evalend Shipping Company SA. On July 3, 2018, ITF also inspected another ship under its jurisdiction, the “Penelope L,” in the port of Fremantle, and found the same problem, that is, employing sailors with terms as low as possible and to provide stale food for the crew.

IFT declared that it had contacted the Ministry of the Interior about BHP's refusal of inspectors’ boarding the ship in Heinbaud. The Ministry of the Interior responded that access to port facilities is the responsibility of port facility operators, and ignored the concerns of ITF.

 Summers said that we called on the Minister of the Interior to immediately intervene in the department’s administrative misconducts and to facilitate our inspectors to board and inspect “VillaDeste” so as to respond to sailors’ emergency calls for help.

Another case of salary deduction occurred on a ship under the Panama Flag at Port Kenbla, Australia. This case was exposed in January under the intervention of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the ship in question was the bulk-cargo ship KenEi, chartered by Bluescope. Ultimately, a salary of $38,384 was immediately paid in cash to 20 Filipino seafarers on board.