P&O forced to reverse pay cut for new workers

P&O forced to reverse pay cut for new workers

P&O Ferries has been forced to reverse an attempt to pay its new agency workers less money than they are already on.

The RMT Union said they received reports of agency workers being asked to sign contracts replacing their old ones with reduced payments.

P&O Ferries were then reported to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, who ensured the new workers retained their original wages.

P&O Ferries sacked almost 800 employees last month and brought in cheaper agency workers in an attempt to save the business.

Staff were alerted to the news via video message on the day of their sacking, prompting national outrage.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said the firm was now trying to bring in an “exploitative model” with the “lowest possible standards they can get away with”.

According to the BBC, RMT said that a seafarer on the Spirit of Britain ferry at Dover had initially contacted the union for help in a dispute over pay.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “good P&O have reversed [the] further attempt at a pay cut”, but added that “they must go much further and pay the minimum wage like all UK businesses”.

“We will legislate to force them, but they could win back some much-needed credibility by acting now.”

On Friday, the Spirit of Britain was cleared to resume sailing after inspections by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

According to the regulator, the ferry had been held at the port since 12 April due to several unspecified deficiencies.

It is P&O’s first Dover to Calais ferry to recommence operations, with services set to resume on Tuesday morning.

Tim Morris, chief of trade association UK Major Ports Group, said P&O Ferries’ newest move was “clearly not great news for the reputation for maritime in the UK”.

He told the BBC’s Today programme the ports industry was “disappointed and surprised as everyone else on what has gone on”.

“It’s not how we operate in the ports sector,” he said. “We hire locally, we pay well, we have well-established industrial relations.”