UK promotes global debate on minimum wage for seafarers

The UK government has moved to initiate a global discussion on seafarer minimum pay in the wake of the sacking of 800 staff working for P&O Ferries earlier this month, a workforce that has subsequently been replaced by a team being paid as little as $3 an hour.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, confirmed yesterday he will bring forward new legislation to ban ferries which don’t pay their workers the national minimum wage from docking at British ports.

The British government has called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to hold an international summit to discuss workers’ rights at sea and to revise the status quo on seafarers’ basic pay rates around the world.

The transport secretary has also written to France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark to propose bilateral agreements which would ensure routes between the countries become so-called minimum wage corridors, where nationals from either country must be paid an agreed minimum wage.

Shapps said: “We can boast some of the highest maritime standards in the world, but for too long some employers have managed to avoid showing workers the most basic respect. Ensuring a fair wage for our seafarers means UK workers are not undercut by employers, and it reiterates the UK flag as one of the most respected in the world. P&O’s behaviour has appalled the nation and I want to make it absolutely clear we will not tolerate their actions or allow anyone else to follow suit – and this package of measures will act as a strong deterrent.”

Source: Splash247

To read the full original article, please go to:

https://splash247.com/uk-promotes-global-debate-on-minimum-wage-for-seafarers/

Sharing is caring!