International crew receives back pay from ship detained in Quebec City

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The Panamanian ship the Kouyou detained under the Maritime Labour Convention in the port of Quebec City has been released after its crew were awarded back pay of $51,000 USD. Workers have also started to be repatriated with the help of the Seafarers International Union.

Transport Canada stepped in to detain the vessel after it was notified. The vessel was the third to be detained in Canada since the MLC came into effect in August. The international convention has been adopted by shipping nations around the world, and adopted by member states of the International Labour Organization.

The crew, made up of 20 Vietnamese and Burmese nationals, along with a Canadian captain James Maung, had not been properly paid, in particular being shorted on the home-allotment, which provides for their families while abroad. A number of the crew had paid high recruitment fees to agencies prior to departing.

“We’re extremely pleased that Canada has seriously given life to the MLC,” said Peter Lahay, International Transport Workers Federation Canadian Co-ordinator. “On our request to Transport Canada inspectors enforced this important convention, allowing help for some of the most isolated and marginalized workers in the world.”

ITF-Unifor inspector Gerard Bradbury, the labour inspector handling the case, said that Canada has been the first nation to detain a ship under the convention. “Canada’s recognition of the importance of these new rules meant that our country will not be an entry port for greater exploitation,” said Bradbury. “Workers aboard the vessel were badly treated, and could have been cheated many months of much needed income. Seafarers often work under difficult conditions, far from home for months on end.”