00:02Multiple current and former staff on Carnival cruise ships have alleged shocking working and
00:07pay conditions. Staff say they regularly worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for the entirety
00:14of their nine-month contract. One staff member we spoke to said she often worked 14-hour shifts
00:20and needed caffeine tablets to get through them. A contract seen by the ABC from 2025 showed that
00:26one worker was paid just 33 Australian dollars a day, which works out to less than three dollars an
00:32hour. The crew also say that the food and water on board just wasn't good enough. They allege that
00:38whilst there is a separate kitchen for staff, they were often given leftovers from the buffet. Food
00:43that was served but not eaten was served to the crew. They say that the food that was served to
00:48them
00:48and wasn't eaten was often served a second time to then and could sometimes be rotten. The crew have
00:53also alleged that the water on board is not safe to drink and they need to buy bottled water to
00:58both
00:58drink and bathe in. Another allegation that the crew have leveled against the company is that they are
01:04neglected medically and that they were not given time when they were sick or injured. A former
01:10paramedic for Carnival has said that the direction from above was to get workers back to work as soon
01:16as possible. A current exemption in Australian labor law means that cruise ships don't need to follow the
01:21Fair Work Act and that is an exemption that's been in place since 1998 and is renewed every few years.
01:29Minister Catherine King, who's the Transport Minister, has said that the allegations are horrifying.
01:36When we put these allegations to Carnival, they rejected them categorically and said that they have
01:41nothing to hide. They pointed out that the Australian maritime regulator has inspected their ships three
01:47times in the last few months and has found no deficiencies. The government is reviewing the findings of
01:52the report into this exemption and says it's looking into it.
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