The CEO of P&O Ferries has been summoned to testify before Members of Parliament who are investigating working conditions in the UK. This is part of ongoing efforts to investigate the company’s decision to replace 786 workers with lower-paid agency workers in 2022.
The decision to inquire about Peter Hebblethwaite was initiated by the business and trade committee in parliament, occurring at the same time as the company’s agreement to adhere to a voluntary government charter that guarantees payment of at least the UK minimum wage to maritime workers.
A study last week by the Guardian and ITV News revealed that P&O agency employees were earning as little as £4.87 per hour, which is lower than the company’s claimed minimum wage of £5.15 per hour.
In May, Hebblethwaite is anticipated to face questioning from MPs along with other company leaders who have been publicly identified for paying their employees below the UK’s minimum wage.
P&O’s budget employees are reportedly working 12-hour shifts every day for extended periods of time without any days off on the Dover to Calais route. According to one employee, the working conditions feel similar to being in “prison.”
The UK minimum wage is now £10.42 an hour and will rise to £11.44 an hour from April – but the rates currently do not apply to maritime workers employed by an overseas agency who work on foreign-registered ships in international waters.
The UK government made a promise two years ago to eliminate the loophole that allowed ferry companies to pay below the minimum wage. They have announced that their new legislation will take effect this summer. France also recently put a similar law in place.
Some competing ferry companies, guaranteeing their employees a minimum wage, are concerned that P&O may attempt to challenge the recent legislation in court.
P&O declined to comment in response to the Guardian’s inquiries regarding potential legal action, and also did not provide a timeline for implementing minimum wage rates or addressing the issue of seafarers working for extended periods without breaks.
According to a representative from P&O Ferries, the company ensures that their employees are always paid at least the minimum wage mandated by both national and international laws.
P&O’s decision to terminate the employment of hundreds of workers without prior notice or consultation sparked a strong reaction from the general public, labor unions, and government officials. This event has now reached its two-year anniversary.
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The former UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, made a commitment to create laws to enhance the wages of cross-Channel ferry employees. He also criticized the ferry company for behaving unlawfully like “sea pirates”.
In March 2022, the company hired agency staff from overseas to replace the terminated workers. The parliament was informed that these staff members were being paid an average of £5.50 per hour, with the lowest-paid earning around £5.15 per hour.
The payslips received and reviewed by the Guardian and ITV News for the previous four months of P&O employees indicate that crew members may be receiving lower wages than what the company stated. P&O has not acknowledged the figure reported by the Guardian and ITV News.
To address the issue of P&O layoffs, the UK government enacted a nine-step strategy and also requested ferry companies to agree to the voluntary seafarers’ charter. This commitment ensures that workers are paid at least the UK minimum wage.
The Department for Transport representative stated that they were pleased to note that almost all major ferry companies operating from the UK have agreed to or are currently in the process of implementing our seafarers’ charter.
Source: theguardian.com
