P&O bosses have been warned to pay their workers the minimum wage or be blocked from docking at British ports.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was ready to introduce a “package of measures” to “block” P&O Ferries’ plan to replace 800 seafarers with agency workers.
Shapps said he also backed demands for P&O chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, to resign and be prevented from being a company director after he admitted breaking employment law by sacking crews on the spot with no notice on March 17.
In a letter to the company, Shapps reflected the outrage of two Commons committees which called on the government to take urgent action after hearing evidence from the rogue ferry boss.
Shapps wrote: “I will be bringing a comprehensive package of measures to Parliament to ensure that seafarers are protected against these types of actions in the way that Parliament and this Government already intended.
“Through that package, I intend to block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued, including paying workers less than the minimum wage.”
The measures could be unveiled on Wednesday.
Shapps told Hebblethwaite he has “one further opportunity” to reinstate the sacked workers on their previous wages.
He went on: “Our package of measures will prevent the law being broken, even when knowingly attempted.
“With this point in mind, I would also suggest that the deadline imposed on seafarers to respond to your redundancy offer by March 31 is dropped.
“Given that we intend to ensure such outcomes are prevented by laws, which we will ensure that you cannot simply choose to ignore, I believe you will be left with little choice but to reverse your decision in any case.”
Shapps restated his call for the company boss to resign, accusing him of “contempt for workers” and describing his position as “untenable”.
In his evidence to a joint session of the Commons’ transport and business select committees, Hebblethwaite admitted the company broke the law by not consulting with trade unions before sacking workers.
The chairs of the committees, Tory MP Huw Merriman and Labour MP Darren Jones, wrote to Shapps and Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Monday urging them to address the “appalling” evidence given by the chief executive.
Among a series of points raised, the letter stated that the Government “has not moved sufficiently quickly” to support the sacked workers, and “must prioritise” their wellbeing.
It also called on the Government to “prosecute P&O Ferries and remove its licence to operate in the UK”.
In other developments rival ferry companies and trade union representatives were summoned to meetings with government officials amid concerns over chaos at ports during the Easter holidays because P&O’s services are disrupted.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it is inspecting P&O Ferries’ ship Pride of Kent at the Port of Dover to ensure it is safe to go to sea with its new crew, even without passengers or cargo.
A full inspection would be required at a later date before it could resume commercial operations.
The MCA said another of the firm’s vessels, European Causeway, remains under detention in Larne, Northern Ireland after “failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training” were discovered.
The minimum wage in the UK for people aged 23 and above is £8.91 per hour.
Hebblethwaite, whose basic annual salary is £325,000, told MPs on March 24 the average pay of the agency crew is £5.50 per hour.
He said this is “an international seafaring model that is consistent with models throughout the globe and our competitors”.
Irish Ferries began operating on the Dover to Calais route in June 2021 in competition with P&O Ferries with the low-cost labour model.
The RMT union previously warned about the company hiring workers from Poland and other European countries paid “well below the national minimum wage”.
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