Unions in warning over worker protection
UNIONS are accusing the UK Government of failing to strengthen workers’ protections a year after the sacking of hundreds of P&O Ferries employees, saying rogue employers are being given a “free pass to act with impunity”.
The TUC said ministers had failed to act on a series of breaches of the law and had not closed loopholes in minimum wage law, warning that without government action, another P&O Ferries-style “scandal” could happen.
The union organisation set out four breaches of law by P&O Ferries it claimed had gone unpunished, including a duty to consult over redundancies, unfair dismissal of workers, failure to notify the relevant government authorities, and breach of director duties.
“P&O Ferries’ directors admitted deliberately breaching the law - and the TUC believes that the directors breached their fiduciary duties.
“The Insolvency Services is responsible for the initiation of director disqualification proceedings but despite serious acts of misconduct, no action has been taken against the P&O Ferries’ directors.
“The government has also failed to take action to deter other directors behaving like this in the future,” a report from the TUC said.
It warned there were “gaping holes” in the new Seafarers Bill, such as requiring ships to make a certain number of UK stops to fall within the law, meaning that employers whose ships don’t reach a required threshold of using UK ports a certain number of times could still “dodge it”.
Neil Todd, a senior trade union lawyer at Thompsons Solicitors, who acted on behalf of the RMT union at the time, said: “What message does it send to unscrupulous employers if P&O Ferries can get away with paying out what are to them small sums and carry on trading?”
A P&O Ferries spokesperson said: “Significant changes in the last year have saved this business, including the 2,200 jobs we secured in coastal communities across the UK. As a result, we are now serving the needs of our passenger and freight customers much better than ever before.”
A Government spokesman said: “We reacted swiftly and decisively against P&O Ferries’ appalling treatment of its staff, and have made substantial progress on the nine-point plan we set out last year to improve seafarers’ pay and conditions.”
They added: “Having brought forward legislation to ensure seafarers are paid at least an equivalent to the UK national minimum wage, and establishing a new statutory code to deter ‘fire and rehire’, we are now working with our near European neighbours to further protect their welfare and pay.”