The European Transport Workers’ Federation successfully kicked off its 2016 campaign to win better jobs in the European river cruise industry by urging passengers in Amsterdam to lend their support to crew and put pressure on employers.
It also presented on 4 April a manifesto calling for a net minimum wage of €800, legal individual contracts and improved social conditions.
Unions say that fast growth and increased competition in the cruise sector have led to greater cost cutting, with fewer crew serving more passengers, overcrowded crew cabins, more stressful work and longer hours. They accuse the industry of social dumping, with wages for the same work varying by nationality.
Representatives from Nautilus International in the Netherlands and Switzerland, ver.di in Germany and ACV-Transcom in Belgium took part in the launch. Intensive action continued throughout the week in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Avignon, Basel, Cologne, Norway, Prague and Ruse.
Unions reported a positive response from holidaymakers to their suggestions that they could ask ship managers about conditions on board, request a visit to crew accommodation and enquire about pay, insurance and employment.
In an open letter handed out to passengers, Nick Bramley – president of the ETF/ITF inland waterways section – said: “Whilst you are enjoying your stay on board, the people who serve your meals and clean your cabins often struggle to make ends meet. Salaries can be so low, and working conditions so bad, that even after nine months of consecutive hard work with working days of up to 14 hours, they still have to rely on your tips to bring some money back home to their families at the end of the season.”
The ETF initiated negotiations for a collective agreement with the European trade association IG River Cruise. Following an initial positive response from some employers, IG River Cruise has withdrawn from talks due to the opposition of leading companies. The ETF has now embarked on a project to conclude agreements with individual companies or groups of companies.
