A Brazilian court has ordered MSC Cruises to pay fines, wages, overtime hours and other damages to 11 crew members of MSC Magnifica having determined that the crew was subjected to unfair working conditions.
The case dates back to April 2014, when the said crew was “rescued” at the port of Salvador, as described by Defonsoria Publica Da Uniao (Public Defence Office), having been subjected to similar “working conditions to that of slaves.”
Collective legal action on behalf of the crew was filed by the DPU in May last year.
The MSC denied the allegations of excessive hours, as well as moral and sexual harassment.
However, following testimonials from the crew and review of the presented evidence, the court determined that the seamen were indeed forced to work an excessive amount of hours, up to 18 hours without breaks in addition to mistreatment.
The 11 crew members were awarded compensation worth RS 330,000 (USD 85,190).
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