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 can not expect these issues to be resolved alone,” he argued, adding that his intention was to establish “minimum wage corridors” in intra-European maritime relations.

A series of steps

The P&O fired 800 sailors overnight on March 17, 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 of 9 9.5 on April Fool’s Day. To make waves in the UK.

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 plans on Wednesday to give British ports the power to deny entry to ferry companies that do not pay their employees 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 negotiate fairly before implementing layoffs to hire cheaper workers could face a 25% increase in dismissal pay, Grant Shops announced.

“It’s too short, too late,” Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT Sector Union, said in a statement shortly afterwards, calling on the government for “rapid and radical reforms to save British sailors”. Although the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated in Parliament that the government will take legal action to protect the jobs of P&O sailors, he has not kept his word, ”he lamented.

Wave of protest

However, the Minister of Transport on Wednesday asked a government agency responsible for dealing with cases of misconduct by business leaders to investigate whether P&O Ferry Company chief Peter Hebletweight should be removed from office. The second, which rejected calls for the government to resign, also rejected the theory of re-hiring 800 laid-off employees, saying it would “lead to the collapse of the company and incur irreparable loss of 2,200 additional jobs”. P&O says its current cost model is unsustainable and the company is losing 100 100 million a year due to the collapse of Pandemic and international travel.

London on Wednesday announced its intention to argue with the International Labor Organization (ILO) for a set of common principles for naval workers, including the minimum wage and the global framework for training sailors. Grant Shops has again announced reforms to facilitate the registration of ships in the United Kingdom and to enhance the attractiveness of the British flag.

As many as 200 international shipping unions and 10,000 workers in the region wrote to P&O’s Dubai – based parent company DP World on Wednesday in protest of the forced dismissal of 800 sailors. A new performance on the subject is planned for Liverpool on Thursday.