UAE: Wages further delayed to Alco Shipping workers as labour courts close under quarantine; incl. co. comments
Summary
Date Reported: 15 Apr 2020
Location: United Arab Emirates
Companies
ALCO Shipping Services - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 5
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 5 - Asia & Pacific , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported )Issues
Restricted mobility , Right to Food , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Personal Health , Wage Theft , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: "The company has reportedly been in financial difficult for three years, with the company representative stating that the workers would be paid when the ship is sold to raise the money. The crew has been dependent on charitable food aid. ""Closed courts and quarantine measures"" were cited as causing a delay to resolution. Extra pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has meant food supplies are delayed getting to the crew, with the closure of the courts delaying resolution of the case. In January 2021 the abandoned ship became grounded on a beach and authorities are preparing to drag her into a port."
Source type: News outlet
"Coronavirus: Forgotten sailors stranded at sea face long wait to return home," 15 Apr 2020
Food, fuel and water is running out on the Panama flagged Mt Iba... belonging to Sharjah-based Alco Shipping...
Collectively, [the five crew] are owed $164,625 (Dh604,744) in outstanding pay dating back to 2017.
A deal was close to being agreed to auction the $5 million (Dh18m) vessel that would have covered crew salaries and repatriation costs.
Closed courts and quarantine measures have left the Mt Iba marooned at its anchorage almost four miles off Hamriya Port, just north of Dubai...
“We have been trying to sell the Iba for two years...
“As soon as the ship is sold, the crew will get their salaries” [said co. representative Waqar Ijaz Hasan].