Laws to ensure that a scandal caused by mass layoffs of personnel on ferries that cross the English Channel by P&O Ferries can never recur will come before the U.K. parliament this week as. The Guardian reports it’s part of an effort by Labour to clamp down on poor working conditions at sea, with cruise and cargo ships also in its sights.
The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, said the new laws would close the loopholes exploited by P&O when it fired 800 crew without warning in 2022, and any company would now face unlimited fines for acting in such a way.
In a statement released October 9, deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, and Haigh said the Employment Rights Bill will introduce new protections specifically devised for seafarers – toughening the laws around collective dismissal and cementing seafarer wage protections in UK law.
Provisions in the employment rights bill designed for seafarers will toughen laws around collective dismissal. The government will also pass regulations making cross-Channel ferry operators pay the national minimum wage of £11.44 ($15) an hour from December 1, under the Seafarers’ Wages Act.
