The company, which operates ferries between Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe, has said it was experiencing such financial difficulties that it had no choice but to replace its workers with cheaper workers from abroad. They would now be paid around €6.50 an hour, far below the British minimum wage of €10.49 an hour for those aged 23 or older.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps now wants to introduce ‘minimum wage corridors’ on sea routes connecting European countries. For this he needs the help of European partners, according to the minister. He contacted his colleagues in Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany and France. The latter would have responded “very positively”, Shapps said before the British Parliament on Wednesday.
In addition, the British minister wants to give ports the power to refuse access to ferry services that do not pay their employees a minimum wage. Shapps also wants more checks on working conditions, but also on safety on board. In the meantime, the British authorities have already detained two P&O Ferries ferries after checking whether the ships could sail safely with a new crew.
Read also: British government wants P&O shipping company to re-recruit redundant staff
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