A new law that aims to ensure people who work on ships that regularly dock at UK ports are paid at least the national minimum wage has received Royal Assent.
The Seafarers’ Wages Act passed its final parliamentary stages last week (23 March), meaning it is now law.
Ship operators that do not provide evidence that they are paying seafarers the equivalent of the national minimum wage will be charged to dock at UK ports, and can be refused access to harbours if non-compliance continues.
The law was a key facet of the government’s nine-point plan for seafarers, which was outlined after the mass sacking of nearly 800 seafarers by P&O Ferries. P&O dismissed workers without notice and replaced them with staff on lower pay and inferior working conditions.
P&O Ferries
TUC: Redundancies by P&O Ferries ‘must be a turning point in workers’ rights’
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Our maritime sector is world-leading. That’s down to the thousands of hardworking seafarers working tirelessly to maintain supply chains and transport passengers safely across our waters.
“These workers deserve a fair wage and I’m therefore delighted to see our Seafarers’ Wages Act become law, helping improve pay and protect seafarers from exploitation.”
However, seafarers’ trade union Nautilus International has warned that the law does not provide strong enough protections to workers.
Executive officer Martyn Gray said: “We support the aim of this legislation to ensure ferry workers regularly docking in UK ports are paid at least the UK national minimum wage. However, the Seafarers’ Wages Act will not, by itself, force a change to P&O Ferries’ exploitative crewing model or stop another P&O Ferries from happening again.
“Government must do more to end the race to the bottom in terms and conditions for ferry workers exacerbated by P&O Ferries. This must start with implementing a mandatory seafarers charter, backed up by bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries, that ensures wages and safe roster patterns reflective of local standards, not international minimums.”
The UK government said it was working with other European countries to enhance protections for seafarers, including the potential creation of “minimum wage corridors”.
The owner of P&O Ferries, DP World, has received further criticism this week after it was awarded a contract to run the Thames Freeport in Essex, alongside car marker Ford and Forth Ports. The TUC described the decision as “appalling”.
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A spokesperson for Thames Freeport said that DP World and its partners had invested heavily in port and logistics infrastructure over the past decade.
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