A dozen Turkish sailors stranded on a ship docked in Sorel vow to stay until they get paid.
The workers were sent to Sorel, about one hour northeast of Montreal, to help repair the dilapidated Phoenix Sun ship but failed to get compensated by their employer.
“We want to go home. Pay our salaries, we want to go home. We will not work anymore,” Captain Semih Ozkan told CTV Montreal Saturday.
The city of Sorel is raising funds to help the stranded sailors and the Turkish Consulate has also offered help.
Ozhan has shown appreciation for the offerings but said that the crew needs its two months wages regardless.
The city wants to help the men return home.
"We're going to talk with the union and government to figure out a way to get them their money once they're back in Turkey,” said Sorel Mayor Serge Peloquin.
The Canadian Coast guard has seized the ship, which is in an advanced state of disrepair.
The crew does not want to return to Turkey without getting paid however, leading to a difficult situation.
One insider said that the sailors might never see that back pay.
“I don't want to say it's not possible, but it's definitely very tough. For one thing as soon as you go back it's very hard to track these people down and keep track of these things,” said Inspector Vince Giannopoulos,
Ozkan said that he has not heard back from his employer for 10 days.
UPDATE:
The City of Sorel-Tracy is now asking for the public's help to send the sailors home.
The city is accepting donations on its website, with a goal to raise $30,000.
The mayor said the money is for 12 airline tickets for the men and $2000 each in back wages they are owed.
The city is owed $60,000 for electricity and other essentials it has bought for the ship since April.
