Move to block P&O sackings
A“PACKAGE of measures” will “block” P&O Ferries’ plan to replace 800 seafarers with agency workers paid below the UK’s minimum wage, according to the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps.
The company caused outrage after sacking its crews with no notice on March 17.
In a letter to the P&O chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, Mr Shapps wrote: “I will be bringing a comprehensive package of measures to Parliament to ensure that seafarers are protected against these types of actions in the way that Parliament and this Government already intended.
“Through that package, I intend to block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued, including paying workers less than the minimum wage.” The measures could be unveiled tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it is inspecting P&O Ferries’ ship Pride of Kent at the Port of Dover to ensure it is safe to go to sea with its new crew, even without passengers or cargo. A full inspection would be required at a later date before it could resume commercial operations.
The MCA said another of the firm’s vessels, European Causeway, remains under detention in Larne, Northern Ireland, after “failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training” were discovered. The minimum wage in the UK for people aged 23 and above is £8.91 per hour.
Mr Hebblethwaite, whose basic annual salary is £325,000, told MPs on March 24 the average pay of the agency crew is £5.50 per hour.
He said this is “an international seafaring model that is consistent with models throughout the globe and our competitors”.
Irish Ferries began operating on the Dover to Calais route in June 2021 in competition with P&O.
On March 23, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament: “We’re going to make sure that everybody working in the UK exclusive economic zone gets paid the living wage and we’ll do it as fast as we possibly can.”
Mr Shapps told Mr Hebblethwaite he has “one further opportunity” to reinstate the sacked workers on their previous wages.
He went on: “Our package of measures will prevent the law being broken, even when knowingly attempted.
“With this point in mind, I would also suggest that the deadline imposed on seafarers to respond to your redundancy offer by March 31 is dropped.”
Mr Shapps reiterated his call for him to resign, accusing him of “contempt for workers” and describing his position as “untenable”.
In his evidence to a joint session of the Commons’ transport and business select committees, Mr Hebblethwaite admitted the company broke the law by not consulting with trade unions before sacking workers.
The chairs of the committees, Tory MP Huw Merriman and Labour MP Darren Jones, wrote to Mr Shapps and Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, yesterday urging them to address the “appalling” evidence given by the chief executive.