Nautilus reports that the top complaint they have been receiving by members through its helpline for 2019 was the issue of unpaid wages, an issue that is seriously affecting seafarers onboard.
Nautilus provides an emergency helpline for those in need, giving the opportunity to seafarers to discuss problems and difficulties.
It is stated that in addition to unpaid wages, other issues that seafarers faced were unfair dismissals and bullying onboard.
Ship detentions because of unpaid wages is a common phenomenon nowadays, as for example, AMSA detained a vessel in September 2019 after crewmembers reported tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.
When it comes to unpaid wages, Nautilus ITF inspectors react immediately and are alerted in cases related to foreign flagged ship detentions or poor living conditions of ships visiting UK ports.
Yet, ISWAN launched its first annual review for 2018-2019, highlighting that unpaid wages reduced to 9.07% of cases from 12.40% of cases in the previous year.
Nautilus director of legal services Charles Boyle stated that
At any one time, Nautilus has members working across the globe in many jurisdictions and time zones, and it’s reassuring to know that they can contact the helpline for instant advice and assistance. This applies even more so in the context of increasing regulation, which can often lead to issues of criminalisation for alleged non-compliance.