Despite international minimum wages being set relatively very low, shipowners or operators consistently attempt to underpay or withhold pay from seafarers for work already done – income that seafarers’ families at home rely on.
Under ITF Agreements, ITF inspectors located in ports around the globe have the right to:
- Board ships
- Review wage accounts, contracts and overtime records
- Enforce wage scales set out in, and protected by, the same ITF Agreements
- Recover unpaid wages
Most complaints received by the ITF’s 130 inspectors relate to unpaid wages (wage theft) – around 1,500 each year. In 2024, ITF inspectors recovered USD58.1 million in owed wages to seafarers.