By P&O responds to claims of ‘lower pay
P&O Ferries has responded to claims that it tried to get its new cheaper agency staff to accept even lower wages.
The RMT Union said it received reports of new workers at Dover being asked to sign new contracts, on lower pay.
It reported P&O Ferries to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which has assured the new workers have not been subjected to a change.
P&O Ferries told the BBC “no agency seafarers were asked to accept reduced wages”.
The company said there were “no plans to change or reduce the wages” of the new seafarers.
Its statement on Monday came after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) claimed the seafarers were asked to accept reduced wages.
According to reports, a seafarer on the Spirit of Britain ferry at Dover contacted the union begging for help in a dispute overpay.
The union said the company was now “trying to bring in an exploitative model, with the lowest possible standards they can get away with”.
In an email seen by the BBC, the worker wrote: “They don’t care about our rights.
They try to give us less money. We are desperate.”
The seafarer told the union they were being forced to work without contracts after old ones had expired.
The worker claimed documents had also been lost by P&O Ferries.
“This is my sixth day working without a contract, please help us!” they said.
The Maritime and Coastguard Authority ensured seafarers’ contracts were amended with their original wages reinstated.
The MCA confirmed it had investigated the complaint and “as a result, the affected seafarers were issued with amended contracts, which reverted to their original wages”.
P&O Ferries said there had been an “administrative misunderstanding” around a contract presented to one individual.
A spokesman said the company had contacted the MCA “to request that they withdraw their statement, which is misleading”.
“We will continue to comply fully with any national minimum wage obligations introduced by the UK government,” he added.
