-----Original Message----- From: Venantius J Pinto Sent: 02 May 2012 04:50 One thing to bear in mind is that the Indian National media did not uncover this. It says a lot about the Guardian to be able to shame their own (and even if perhaps registered outside the UK).
============================================ 5 May: The Guardian. By Ian Jack. A cruise once seemed an 'elevated' form of tourism. Not any more . the moral question loomed largest when the Guardian disclosed what cruise ship crews get paid this week. On P&O ships sailing from Southampton, a junior waiter can earn as little as 75p an hour. The Guardian's report has caused astonishment and reproach. wage rates at five-star hotels in, say, Goa are outside the argument, though P&O would say they shouldn't be. ... One of the FAQS on the P&O website is: "Why are the ships registered in Bermuda?" To which P&O replies that the registry has been chosen "so that we can offer our passengers a 'weddings at sea package', a service that is not possible on ships registered in the UK". It has nothing to do, then, with the potential for litigation opened up by the recent Equality Act that might affect the wage bills of ships with large foreign crews? ... . an Indian waiter on a German-built ship registered in Bermuda serves lunch to a retired couple from Surrey: this is where an old imperial connection most vividly exists.1165 words. http://bit.ly/IQ1rVS The original Guardian article was also carried by the Daily Telegraph (UK) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9235729/PandO-cruise-ship-crew-paid-j ust-75p-per-hour.html Daily Mail (UK) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137233/P-O-cruise-ship-staff-paid-j ust-75p-hour-face-having-tips-cuts.html?ito=feeds-newsxml and widely reproduced and discussed. Eddie Fernandes