Monday, July 21, 2014
Ship’s crew protests employer’s failure to pay at Port of Long Beach
Crewmembers from the Vega-Reederei, a Liberian-flagged ship operated by German company Arend Bruegge, formed a picket line last week at the Port of Long Beach. The 21 mariners are protesting their employer’s failure to pay them up to four months of back wages, according to a statement from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
The predominantly Filipino crew has asked for help from the International Transport Workers’ Federation and from ILWU dockworkers, the ILWU said.
At the ship’s last port of call in Korea, the crew told the ILWU that the company promised to pay but did not. The workers were told if they complained about the failure to pay they would be replaced with a Chinese crew, the statement said. Eleven of the sailors say the company has kept them on board past the original agreement, and demand to be flown home to the Philippines.
According to the ILWU, crewmembers contacted Stefan Mueller-Dombois, inspector for the ITWF in Southern California, to ask for help because their families in the Philippines haven’t received any wages in months and are going hungry.
Arend Bruegge allegedly owes workers more than $150,000 in unpaid wages, the ILWU said, noting the company has a history of failing to pay crewmembers on other vessels it operates.
"It appears that this company has done this before by refusing to pay crewmembers on the ships they operate," said ITF West Coast Coordinator Jeff Engels. “The crew are seeking justice and support from other maritime workers in the area.”
The ITF has been talking with the ship operator to reach a settlement, the ILWU reports, but as of Wednesday of last week, company officials had refused to negotiate and threatened to leave Long Beach without paying crewmembers.
Engels said that ITF Inspector Stefan Mueller-Dumbois is seeking immediate payment for the crewmembers – and a written agreement that will prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
"Our job is to help crewmembers from being exploited by powerful, international corporations that own and operate these vessels," Engels said.
The ship is hauling a cargo of wind turbines, according to the statement.
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