Exploitation of Seafarers

Conference remains deeply concerned at the impact on domestic seafarers from ferry operators trading in the Irish Sea who recruit crews from outside Ireland and the British Isles to work for hourly rates of pay substantially below the Irish and UK national minimum wages €8.65 and £6.50 per hour respectively. Conference notes that Polish seafarer ratings employed by freight operator Seatruck are paid £3.66 per hour to work on their Bahaman and Isle of Man registered vessels on the Heysham-Dublin; Liverpool- Dublin and Heysham-Warrenpoint; Estonian and  Polish ratings are paid £5.55 per hour by Irish Ferries on the Dublin-Holyhead and Rosslare to Pembroke routes and rates of pay for Filipino, Portuguese and Spanish ratings on P&O vessels sailing between Larne-Cairnryan and Dublin-Liverpool are as low as £3.65 per hour. Conference notes that this pay discrimination against seafarers from other EU and non-EU countries is a consequence of political failure to enforce employment law, particularly National Minimum Wage legislation. Conference also notes the effect that this exploitation has on major employers in the Irish Sea, particularly the largest employer of Irish seafarers Stena Line which is consistently undercut by the low cost crewing practices of other operators. Conference agrees to support the campaign to enforce and, if necessary, amend legislation in support of domestic seafaring skills and urges the governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to formulate a joint approach to eliminate the exploitation of seafarers in the Irish Sea by creating a level commercial playing field based on minimum domestic employment and equality standards which  cannot be side stepped through registering vessels under flags of convenience. Conference reiterates its view that Irish seafarers suffered from the adverse effects of globalization long before that term existed and believes that the shipping industry's continued use of low cost crews is a discriminatory practice that undermines the rule of law and threatens the economic, social and strategic future of maritime skills in Ireland.