Following the recent layoffs of 800 workers by the ferry company P&O, the British government is working with European partners, including France, on minimum wages for workers on European shipping routes.

“I have already been in touch with my rivals in France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany to raise the issue of the minimum wage for naval workers on direct routes between our countries,” Transport Minister Grant announced Wednesday. Shops were added in Parliament. He had already received a “very good response” from the French side.

“Most maritime laws are governed by international law, obligations and treaties, which means we cannot expect these issues to be resolved alone,” Mr. Shaps argued, explaining his intention to establish “minimum wage corridors” in intra-European naval relations.

On March 17, the P&O laid off 800 sailors overnight, replacing them with outsourced workers who were paid an average of .5 5.5 (.5 6.5) an hour, far below the British minimum wage.

The Minister of Transport on Wednesday presented to the British Parliament a series of measures aimed at ensuring work and safety conditions on ferries traveling to or from the United Kingdom or the country.

In particular, he intends to give British ports the power to deny entry to ferry companies that do not pay workers the minimum wage.

The Minister warned that the restrictions would be tightened in view of the working conditions and safety of the ships, while the Maritime authorities had in the last few days halted two P&O ships, one at Dover and the other at Lorn in Northern Ireland due to documentation deficiencies. , Emergency equipment and crew training.

In addition, companies that do not make a reasonable effort to negotiate before laying off their employees may face a 25% increase in dismissal pay, Mr Shaps continued to announce.

It was “too short, too late”, and soon Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT Sectoral Union, said in a press release that he called on the government to “make swift and radical reforms to save the British sailors.”

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said in Parliament that the government will take legal action to protect the jobs of P&O sailors, but he did not keep his word, he lamented.