Exclusive: World Cup Cruise Ship Owners Being Investigated For Slave Labour

England’s WAGs are reportedly staying on a cruise ship that’s owned by a firm that is currently undergoing investigation for slave labour, MailOnline reveals.

Three vessels belonging to MSC Cruises, one of the world’s largest and most popular cruise line majors, are now docked at the Doha port to provide top-notch, luxury accommodation for WAGs and World Cup fans.

The WAGs likely to be staying on the £1billion MSC World Europa, dubbed HMS WAG, include the present girlfriend of Jack Grealish, Sasha Attwood, the partner of England defender Eric Dier, Anna Modler, and the fiancée of Marcus Rashford, Lucia Loi.
Two other MSC vessels in Doha’s port offering accommodation for other celebrities and fans are the MSC Poesia and MSC Opera.

But while passengers live it up in jaw-dropping luxury, with packages for onboard stay costing almost £6,000, MSC Cruises, which operates and owns the vessels, is undergoing a stringent investigation undertaken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations that the Cuban employees were reportedly subject to slave-like treatment.

The sensational allegations were unveiled by a Spain-based human rights group named the Prisoners Defenders, which has reportedly submitted a dossier to the ICC with testimonies along with other evidence from over 1,000 Cuban employees on the treatment they receive when working on MSC vessels as well as in other industries all over the world.

One of the allegations is that they received 20% of their salaries, the remainder going to the Cuban Government to help it gather foreign currency reserves, and the officials associated with MSC took away their passports.

The Cuban ship staff was required to work 40 hours per week. As evidence, Prisoners Defenders pointed out the case of a former MSC employee who reportedly paid £357 monthly, but the Cuban Government only got £275. Another had a base salary of £287, of which £229 went to the Cuban state.

Prisoners Defenders has undertaken a thorough investigation for the past five years. The two ships it mentioned to be using Cuban “slaves” are the MSC Poesia and MSC Opera. These are in use for the World Cup.

The MSC World Europa is a newly launched ship with the naming ceremony held in Doha over the weekend.

Further claims made during the examination were that some Filipino workers on MSC vessels were subject to an 80% reduction in salaries that is believed to have been paid to private agents and that they were treated in an exploitative manner, often carrying out the most menial activities below the deck.

Javier Larrondo, the director of Prisoners Defenders, raised a pertinent question when discussing with MailOnline: Why is a firm undergoing investigation by the ICC for human rights violations permitted to be present at the World Cup 2022 and even benefit from the event?

He added that he is sure that most wealthy and high-profile individuals on board the ships, and the ordinary fans, do not know how the MSC operates.
MSC World Europa has six incredible swimming pools, 14 gorgeous ocean-view whirlpools, and a 643ft-long promenade.

The ship boasts an 11-deck-high helter-skelter dubbed The Venom Drop — at a whopping 75m — it is the tallest slide (until now) on any vessel in the world.

England’s WAGs are expected to be among 6,762 guests in 2,633 cabins.

MSC Opera is a 2004-built cruise ship that can host 2,700 guests. She underwent a complete renovation back in 2015 and had a shopping mall and other similar amenities.
MSC Poesia can accommodate about 3,000 passengers and is reportedly described as elegant, boasting substantial swimming pools and classy luxury bars.

During the World Cup 2022, the cheapest room on any of these MSC vessels in Doha port will cost almost £400 for one night, with fans having to book a minimum of two nights.
Larrondo said that, undoubtedly, the girlfriends and wives of fans and players around the globe would have a pleasant time on MSC’s luxurious vessels. But he hopes that they change their minds now. He added that the involvement of MSC is yet another sad chapter in a World Cup that human rights exploitations and violations have overshadowed. This is not what football has to be about.

The ICC has reportedly been presented with contracts offered to MSC’s Cuban staff, reflecting that a maximum of 80% of their salaries might be slashed.

MSC hired Cuban staff via a Havana-based Selecmar agency, which is part of the Cuban Government. It sends thousands of Cubans all over the world to work across industries.
Per campaigners, this generates the Government $8 billion every year and is the primary source of the country’s foreign revenue.

MSC declared that it no longer employed Cuban workers. However, the firm accepted that it did pay a proportion of wages to relevant Cuban authorities since it was part of a regulatory requirement.

It said in a statement that the firm is well-aware of the report presented by Prisoner Defender that represents an action against the Cuban Government for the management of salaries of their crew members, not against MSC Cruises or cruise lines. It makes extraordinary allegations regarding the firm’s conduct, which they refute.

It also explained that, like any other shipping majors, when they had operations in Cuba – which they no longer continue having – they had to engage Cuban crew members via Selectman. It was a requirement the Cuban authorities had put forward. While they have paid the entire salary of each crew member employed on their fleet, local regulatory requirements indicate that part of this was offered to Cuban Authorities for allocation to the respective families of their Cuban crew members.

Responding to the allegations revolving around the mistreatment of Filipino employees, the firm confessed that it had paid a percentage of their salaries via agencies.

It also mentioned that this is a typical arrangement in some jurisdictions and that they will abide by the legal demands of the countries their crew members come from besides offering them competitive pay and good working conditions to appeal to them.

References: WST Post, NY Breaking

Exclusive: World Cup Cruise Ship Owners Being Investigated For Slave Labour appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News