A flash mob of self-proclaimed pirates have posted a video on YouTube announcing a protest to be held at "high noon" Saturday to protest against what they consider the substandard work conditions of foreign cruise ship employees working in Vancouver for the duration of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.
Pirates For Justice, complete with eye patches and peg legs, say their protest will be a family-friendly "stand against the pillagin' and plunderin' of the poor."
Three cruise ships are being provided at the cost of $76-million as part of the Olympic budget to house security personnel during the Games, according to protest organizers. Last week, a crew member aboard one of the ships housing the 2010 Integrated Security Unit was diagnosed with leprosy. Vancouver Coastal Health authorities did not release the victim's name, but claimed the disease had not spread to other members on the ship and that the infection had been treated immediately.
Founder of PFJ, Craig "Blackbeard" Greenfield told the Globe and Mail that the worst-treated and lowest-paid cruise ship employees are not allowed to go up to the passenger decks. "On the cruise ship there's a lot of luxury and opulence, but when you do the research and you find out what's happening below the decks it's shocking. It's a real juxtaposition of lifestyles," he said.
Mr. Greenfield said that while many Vancouverites are concerned for sweatshops in third-world countries, exploitation is occurring "right in our own backyard."
Mr. Greenfield is hoping for a large crowd to dress up as pirates and join the flash mob on Saturday, at a location yet to be divulged.
Two of the ships docked in in Vancouver are owned by Holland America, the third is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. Spokesperson for Carnival Jennifer de la Cruz said by e-mail that the company employs 35,000 people, many of whom have stayed with the company for as long as 30 years. "We have more than 100 different nationalities represented among our crew who have gravitated to cruise ship jobs because in most instances they represent superior earnings opportunities versus what they can make in their home countries," the e-mail reads.
According to reports from the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), a survey of 400 cruise ship employees found that more than 95 per cent of those worked seven days a week, with the majority working between 12 to 14 hours per day. Overtime is not paid on many vessels, as no union agreements exist, even with Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise line.
Ms. de la Cruz stated that Carnival employees do not pay for room and board, receive free medical and dental care, and are provided a retirement plan in addition to their earnings.
In reaction to the news that a protest in Vancouver would occur, Ms. de la Cruz's wrote it was "nothing more than a stunt."
"Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that someone out there would try to take advantage of the Vancouver stage right now to draw attention even when the cause is not legitimate," she wrote.