Fishermen 'treated worse than slaves'

Ten Indonesian fishermen who jumped ship in Nelson last week were being treated "worse than slaves", the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) said today.

ITF co-ordinator Kathy Whelan said the fishermen from the Korean-flagged Sky 75 were forced to scale a fence in the port on Wednesday before turning themselves into a police station for their own safety.

Ms Whelan said the crew were not seeking to enter New Zealand illegally, but wanted to protect their own lives and were in a "desperate" state.

They flew out of Christchurch yesterday for Indonesia, leaving behind eight fellow crew members on the Sky 75, which is still in Nelson undergoing repairs.

Ms Whelan said the 10 men were experienced fishermen who had endured bad conditions before, "but nothing as horrendous as this".

"They've sustained injuries and been forced to work without medical treatment, their accommodation was poor and the food they were fed was just rotten," Ms Whelan said.

She said the crew had not been paid and were subjected to long hours, physically and verbally abused, and forced to wash on deck in sea water.

A crew member who had his arm crushed by machinery was made to continue working without medical treatment. The crew had no protective clothing or footwear, and many worked in jandals and bare feet in cold conditions.

Ms Whelan said all crews working in New Zealand waters are entitled to New Zealand minimum wage and conditions.

She said the Labour Department was involved in investigating the ship.

"They've been really good, and they're very confident they'll be able to recover the lost wages."

The crew each paid a "fee" of approximately $1000 to a Jakarta manning agency to get their job, before joining the vessel in late July. Their wages of US$200 ($290) a month should have been sent to their families, but had not, she said.

Maritime Union of New Zealand general secretary Trevor Hanson said the union had been put on alert around the country, and "will take whatever action is deemed necessary to end the abuse of crew on foreign-owned vessels".

"This latest incident has pushed things over the line -- as workers we are no longer prepared to have slave labour in our industry," he said in a statement.

- NZPA