How can cruise ships afford to provide so much personal attention and service? One way is by controlling labor costs. Nonprofessional cruise employees work 70 hours a week for an average starting pay of $2,000 a month. The vast majority of their earnings come from tips, which can add from $1,000 to $2,500 per month to their income. Cruise workers not only work long hours but are also generally at sea on five-to eight-month contracts, receiving two days off per month. They do spend six weeks onshore between contracts. Employees, of course, receive room and board, medical care, and airfare to and from home between contracts in addition to their pay and tips; and benefits are generous by international standards.
Most cruise-line employees come from Third World or former Soviet-bloc nations. Although many are college educated, they are unable to find well-paying employment in their home countries. Cruise-line personnel agencies are virtually flooded with applicants from around the globe, from Honduras to Romania. The demand for cruise ship jobs is high because wages in most nonindustrialized countries are so low.
Cruise lines can decide how much to pay employees because they are not subject to the employment regulations of industrialized countries such as minimum wages, maximum working hours, and overtime pay. They are able to avoid these regulations by registering their ships abroad in countries such as Panama and Liberia.
Answer 1= Yes, cruise lines should be pressured to comply with employment laws in developed countries. This is mainly because it is important to provide the minimum wages and minimum working conditions for the manpower who work in these cruise lines so that they can sustain their livelihood and make sure they work in normal working conditions. If these cruise liens are not subjected to the labor laws, they will exploit the manpower and thus will have a negative impact on the local community.
Answer 2- The main effects will be that the local economy will have more inflow of money as the minimum wages will ensure that a certain fixed amount of money will be paid to the employees and thus the employees will have more money in hand to spend.
On the other hand, when suitable working conditions will be provided to the manpower, fewer health-related issues will occur causing less burden on the economy.
How can cruise ships afford to provide so much personal attention and service? One way is...