Owners of England’s WAGS World Cup cruise ship being investigated for ‘slave labour’

English WAGs are staying on a cruise ship owned by a company under investigation for using ‘slave labour’, MailOnline can reveal.

Three ships from MSC Cruises, one of the largest cruise lines in the world, are docked in Doha Port to provide luxury accommodation for WAGs and other World Cup fans.

Among the WAGs expected to stay on the lavish £1bn MSC World Europe dubbed HMS WAG are Jack Grealish’s girlfriend Sasha Attwood, England defender Eric Dier’s partner Anna Modler and Marcus Rashford’s fiancé Lucia Loi.

Two other MSC ships in the port of Doha that provide accommodation for fans and other celebrities are the MSC Opera and MSC Poesia.

But while guests indulge in dazzling luxury, with stay-on-board packages costing up to £6,000, MSC Cruises, the owner and operator of the ships, is under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations that Cuban workers are subject to ‘ slave-like conditions.

The sensational allegations were uncovered by Spain-based human rights organization Prisoners Defenders, which has submitted a detailed dossier to the ICC containing testimonies and other evidence from more than 1,000 Cuban workers about their treatment while on MSC ships and in other industries around the world. world worked.

Among the allegations is that they received only 20 percent of their salaries, with the rest going to the communist Cuban government to help it collect vital foreign exchange reserves and that MSC officials confiscated their passports.

The Cuban ship’s personnel had to work a minimum of 40 hours a week. In its evidence, Prisoners Defenders highlighted the case of a former MSC employee who was paid £357 a month, but from which the Cuban government received £275. Another had a base salary of £287, of which £229 went to the Cuban state.

The file, which has also been submitted to the United Nations, states: ‘Victims state that MSC Cruises employees have become for them an extension of the repression of the Cuban regime.’

Prisoners Defenders has been conducting its research for the past five years. Two of the ships noted as using Cuban ‘slaves’ are the MSC Opera and the MSC Poesia, which are used for the World Cup.

The MSC World Europa is a new ship that had its christening ceremony in Doha last weekend.

Further allegations made during the investigation were that Filipino workers on MSC ships also received an 80 percent pay cut, believed to be paid to private agents, and were often treated in an “exploitative, ugly manner” . does the most menial jobs below deck.

Javier Larrondo, director of Prisoners Defenders, told MailOnline: ‘Why is a company under investigation by the ICC for human rights violations allowed to attend and benefit from the World Cup?

“I’m sure many of the wealthy, high-profile people on board their ships and casual fans don’t know how MSC works.”

MSC World Europe has no less than six swimming pools, 14 whirlpools with ocean views and a 200-metre long promenade.

There is also an 11-deck high helter-skelter called The Venom Drop – at 75 meters it is the highest slide on any ship in the world.

England’s WAGs are expected to be among 6,762 guests in 2,633 cabins.

MSC Opera is a cruise ship built in 2004 with a capacity of 2,700 passengers. It underwent a thorough renovation in 2015 and, in addition to its own shopping center, also has other luxurious facilities.

MSC Poesia can accommodate 3,000 passengers and is described as ‘elegant’ with swimming pools and luxury bars.

During the World Cup, the cheapest room on one of the three MSC ships in Doha port will cost nearly £400 per night, with fans required to book a minimum of two nights.

Mr. Larrondo enraged: ‘There is no doubt that the beautiful wives and girlfriends of the players and fans from all over the world will have a great time on MSC’s luxury ships. Who not? But I hope they change their minds now.

MSC’s involvement is just another sad chapter in a World Cup overshadowed by exploitation and human rights violations. This is not what football should be about.”

The ICC has also obtained contracts given to Cuban MSC personnel that state that up to 80 percent of their salary can be withheld.

MSC hired its Cuban staff through the Selecmar agency in Havana, which is part of the country’s government and sends thousands of citizens around the world to work in various industries.

According to campaigners, this brings the government as much as $8bn (£6.7bn) a year and is the main source of foreign revenue.

MSC insisted it no longer employed Cuban workers, but accepted that it did pay part of their wages to Cuban authorities as it was a “legal requirement.”

It said in a statement: “We are aware of the Prisoner Defender report, which represents an action against the Cuban government for their management of crew salaries, not against cruise lines or MSC Cruises. It makes some extraordinary accusations about our behavior, which we absolutely refute.

“Like all shipping companies when we had operations in Cuba – which we no longer do – we had to employ our Cuban crew members through Selecmar, which was a requirement of the Cuban authorities. While we have always paid the full salary of every crew member who has ever worked on our fleet, local regulations meant that a portion of this was provided to the Cuban authorities for allocation to the families of Cuban crew members.”

In response to allegations of mistreatment of Filipino workers, the company admitted that it paid a percentage of their salary “through employment agencies” and this remains in effect.

It added: ‘This is a perfectly normal arrangement in certain jurisdictions, and we will always follow the legal requirements of the countries our crew comes from, in addition to providing good working conditions and competitive pay packages to attract them.’