“I have already contacted my counterparts in France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany to raise the issue of a minimum wage for maritime workers on direct routes between our countries,” Transport Minister Grant announced on Wednesday. Shapps in Parliament, adding that he had already received "a very positive response" from the French side.

“Most maritime law is governed by international rules, obligations and treaties, which means that we cannot hope to solve these problems alone,” argued Mr. Shapps, specifying his intention to establish “ minimum wage corridors" on intra-European maritime links.

The overnight dismissal on March 17 of 800 seafarers by P&O, which replaces them with outsourced workers paid an average of 5.5 pounds (6.5 euros) per hour, well below the British minimum wage which rises to 9 .5 pounds on the first of April, continues to make waves in the UK.

The Minister for Transport unveiled before the British Parliament on Wednesday a series of measures intended to guarantee working and safety conditions on ferries traveling to or from the United Kingdom or within the country.

In particular, he plans to give British ports the power to refuse access to ferry companies on Wednesday that do not pay their employees the minimum wage.

British Transport Minister Grant Shapps, in London on March 8, 2022 JUSTIN TALLIS AFP / Archives

Controls will be reinforced, both in terms of working conditions and safety on ships, warned the minister, while the maritime authorities have immobilized two P&O ships in recent days, one in Dover and the other in Larne in Northern Ireland, due to deficiencies in documentation, emergency equipment and crew training.

In addition, companies that have not made reasonable efforts to negotiate before implementing layoffs to rehire cheaper labor may be subject to a 25% increase in severance pay, further announced Mr Shapps.

"Too little, too late"

It is "far too little, far too late", immediately tackled the general secretary of the RMT sectoral union Mick Lynch in a press release, calling on the government to "faster and more radical reforms to save British seafarers".

"The prime minister has repeatedly told parliament that the government will take legal action to save the jobs" of P&O seafarers, "but he hasn't kept his word," he lamented.

The Minister for Transport, however, on Wednesday asked a government agency responsible for intervening in cases of misconduct by business leaders, to examine whether the boss of the P&O ferry company Peter Hebblethwaite should be removed from his post.

Mr. Hebblethwaite, who rejected calls for the resignation of the government, also dismissed the possibility of re-hiring the 800 sacked employees, judging that this would lead to "a collapse of the company, with the irremediable loss of 2,200 additional jobs ".

The offices of the P&O ferry company near the port of Dover, March 18, 2022 Glyn KIRK AFP

P&O keeps saying its current cost model is unsustainable and the company, which has been hit hard by the pandemic and the collapse in international travel, is losing £100m a year.

London also announced on Wednesday its intention to advocate with the International Labor Organization for a set of common principles for maritime workers, including a minimum wage and a global framework for the training of seafarers.

Mr Shapps further announced reforms to facilitate the registration of ships in the UK and improve the attractiveness of the British flag.

Nearly 200 international maritime transport unions and 10,000 workers in the sector wrote to DP World, the parent company of P&O based in Dubai, on Wednesday to protest against the compulsory dismissal of 800 sailors.

A new demonstration on this subject is planned for Thursday in Liverpool.

© 2022 AFP