Cruise employees with days of 11 hours a day and 7 days a week

In the brightest covers of the luxury cruises They pass Dream holidaysinfinite pools, spectacular buffes and night shows. But under all that fun, in the lower covers, the true human machinery that operates these is hidden colossi of tourism: A population of employees who work 12 hours.

The cruise industry continues to grow: 34.64 million passengers will embark in 2025, according to The latest reports of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which has generated a record demand for personnel. Getting one of these jobs requires, in many cases, to master English, Obtain regulatory certifications and accept contracts for months, with minimal breaks and far from the home. Mass recruitment allows more and more workers in countries with emerging economies and low salaries to be part of the crew, such and As publishes I monde.

Life and work on the lower covers. Under the luxuries of the main roofs, a diverse community of employees from India, the Philippines or Peru, Honduras or Colombia is crowded. There, the cabins cease to be private and the carpet is replaced by the cold metal.

Most share a room with other companions, in two bunk beds and with hardly any places for personal rest, as confirmed The Alba Sud report ‘work on cruises. Of the extension to the intensification of the working days’.

This 2021 report confirms that hierarchically lower positions support an average of 11.3 hours of daily work and 6.97 days per week, accumulating around 80 hours per week. Working conditions prevent having 24 -hour consecutive days and, when the cruise is on the high seas, the crew “does not enjoy any full day of rest. At most, a few hours of holidays,” says its authors.

The law of the sea and precarious contracts. Most cruises navigate under convenience flags (such as Panama, Bahamas, Bermudas), with which not only many taxes dodge: they also allow to avoid strict labor regulations.

Workers on board lack union representation and there is hardly any margin to negotiate rights or schedules. Social protection is limited to the essential: basic medical care and minimum rest, stipulated by the Convention on Maritime Work. The interpretation of these regulations is very lax and there is no benefit for maternity or guaranteed compensation in case of accident, nor is the right to strike of employees ensures.

According to what was published by I mondewages vary according to the position, but the most common ranges for unqualified employees of cleaning, kitchen or maintenance range between $ 900 and $ 1,100 per month. Contracts usually extend between 4 and 9 months, after which employees return to their country for a period of two to three months until they summon them again for a new season. These periods are considered on vacation, but are not paid.

Precarious, but save. Despite the hardness of conditions, work on a cruise It is still an aspiration For many employees from Southeast Asia and Latin America. “Working on a ship is a dream for me. So I think I will continue to do it while I can, because after 40, it is difficult to find work in the Philippines,” he said I mondeVanessa, a 45 -year -old Philippine who cleans cabins in one of those cruises.

Working on a cruise maintains its appeal for those who seek to save for a specific goal, such as buying a house or setting up a business when you return home. “I can pay the education of my children,” added Glitz, lifeguard and single mother who has left her two children with her parents in the Philippines.

Not having maintenance or accommodation expenses on board, they can send virtually all the full salary to their families and plan a more stable future than their country of origin allows.

A job with a lot of rotation. According to the Alba Sud study, 81% of the employees surveyed received a Increase in workload After the stop of the pandemic, and 56% say that their day lengthening in recent years.

Precarious salaries linked to the long days and the time they spend away from their families, make work on a cruise an activity with high labor rotation.

Companies have recognized that it is difficult retain employees Throughout the season. “The challenge for companies is to hire people who are not going to stay in a port port. It often happens, so the company reassures when an employee has a family to send money,” he tells the French newspaper, Cédric Rivoire-Perrochat, co-founder of the Compagnie Française de Croisières Compagnie Naviera.

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Image | MSC CruisesUnspash (Nestor Pool)