[ad_1]
Seafarers from overseas introduced in to switch the 800 sacked British P&O Ferries crew are being paid as little as £1.80 an hour, unions have claimed.
The information emerged as Labour accused the federal government of doing “completely nothing” when it realized of the deliberate sackings, as a memorandum with the “recreation plan” of P&O was circulated on Wednesday night.
The RMT union, which represents lots of the workers who had been abruptly fired final week by the Dubai-owned firm, mentioned Indian rankings introduced in by offshore businesses to function on the Dover-Calais route had been being paid $2.38 (£1.80) an hour.
It’s understood that P&O Ferries disputes the figures, nevertheless it declined to debate the charges or give different charges because the crew are employed by a third-party company.
The RMT basic secretary, Mick Lynch, mentioned it was “a surprising exploitation of these seafarers and one other gut-wrenching betrayal of those that have been sacked”.
He referred to as for sailings to be halted amid security issues over the wholesale substitute of P&O’s long-serving crew with recent officers and rankings.
Lynch mentioned: “The rule of legislation and acceptable norms of respectable employment and behavior have utterly damaged down beneath the white cliffs of Dover and in different ports, but 5 days into this nationwide disaster the federal government has completed nothing to cease it.”
Within the Commons, the shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, mentioned the federal government had had the chance to cease the mass sackings. She mentioned: “The reality is that P&O Ferries and DP World did this exactly as a result of they knew they may get away with it … The impotent response from ministers reveals that they had been proper to suppose that.”
She mentioned the response to the memo from the Division for Transport was “the clearest proof that the federal government’s first intuition was to do completely nothing”.
Grant Shapps admitted he was made conscious of deliberate redundancies on Wednesday night at 8.30pm however assumed that they’d be carried out in the identical manner because the 1,100 layoffs in 2020, by means of session, relatively than “the cynical method” used. The transport secretary mentioned: “There is no such thing as a excuse for the way in which wherein it was carried out.”
Shapps additionally condemned P&O for providing crew redundancy packages “on the situation they signal non-disclosure agreements”. He mentioned that the federal government could be reviewing all contracts with P&O and proprietor DP World, which is operating two of Rishi Sunak’s new freeports. The UK’s sovereign wealth fund can be investing as much as $720m with DP World in operations in Africa.
He was met with derision by Labour MPs after questions over P&O Ferries now staffing ships such because the Satisfaction of Britain with international crew. Shapps replied: “To have a ship referred to as the Satisfaction Of Britain or Satisfaction Of Kent … with out having British staff I believe could be utterly fallacious and I’ll be calling on P&O to alter the identify of the ships.”
Shapps mentioned he had instructed the Maritime and Coastguard Company to examine all P&O ferries earlier than they may return to service, together with their operational drills to make sure that the brand new crew had been correctly educated, including: “If they aren’t these ships won’t sail.”
A P&O Ferries spokesperson mentioned the corporate had recruited “high-quality skilled seafarers, who will now familiarise themselves with the ships, going by means of all obligatory coaching necessities set out by our regulators.”
He added: “Security is paramount in our new crewing administration mannequin.”
The usual minimal wage in Britain is £8.91 an hour. However, operators usually are not liable to UK regulation when they’re crusing internationally and are flagged exterior the UK. After Brexit, P&O Ferries reflagged a few of its UK-registered ships to areas together with Cyprus.
An replace to the foundations to make sure minimal wages are utilized on ships for all nationalities of staff crusing between UK ports was introduced in final yr by the federal government, which would seem to imply P&O Ferries must pay the minimal wage to staff introduced in on the Larne-Cairnryan route. Nevertheless, cross-Channel ferries are exempt.
P&O wouldn’t affirm whether or not it paid the minimal wage.
No passenger sailings have operated since P&O Ferries made its shock announcement on Thursday, telling workers – many by video message – that they had been being changed instantly by cheaper company crew.
P&O mentioned providers would stay suspended for a number of extra days.
Protests had been held on Monday afternoon exterior the workplaces of DP World, P&O Ferries’ proprietor, and at parliament.
[ad_2]
Source link
