Labor Exploitation
Cruise workers earn as little as $2 per hour, work 10-14 hour shifts, 7 days a week, with no vacation or sick days. Deployments are 7-10 months at a time. Cruise companies get away with this kind of exploitation by flying “flags of convenience,” registering their ships in countries with lax or non-existent labor and safety protections.
Contracts are often in English even when it is not the first language of the workers. Contract and application fees by third party recruiters and flights to reach the cruise ships can vastly reduce a worker’s total earnings.
Mental & Physical Health
Workers are exposed to toxins, carcinogens and particulate matter from smokestack emissions that can contribute to serious health impacts including cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease and early death. For workers in the engine room, there is very little opportunity to see sunlight and an exposure to continuous engine and propeller noise and vibration that can lead to sleep disturbances, anxiety, and high blood pressure.
Lack of sleep and rest, poor nutrition and malnutrition, high stress work environment, isolation from loved ones, confined conditions, and harassment and abuse without recourse, all contribute to poor physical and mental health. Depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide can be common. There is a lack of access to mental health support and medical care for illness and injury.
Conditions Exacerbated by the Pandemic
Cruise workers are at higher risk for illness due to viral outbreaks, which continue to occur during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some workers still have not had access to the vaccines widely available in more wealthy nations.
In 2020, many workers were kept at sea for months on “ghost ships” when the cruise industry shut down, essentially imprisoning them, often without pay. Numerous cruise workers committed suicide as a result. This happened because management refused or delayed sending them home for monetary reasons, even though most CEO’s received multi-million dollar bonuses that same year.
Who Is Being Exploited
The lowest paid workers on board cruise ships are often kitchen galley workers and cabin stewards. A majority of these workers are from the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Caribbean. Although the wages may be more than these workers can earn at home, it should not be an excuse to perpetuate exploitation. Wages are often sent home to support families they may only see for a few months a year.