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May 11, 2022
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- The London government's bill to ensure
ferrymen the minimum wage raises concerns and
ports don't like it at all
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- For the British Ports Association and Nautilus International
(which presented a Fair Ferries Strategy), among the rocks there is
that of compliance with obligations towards the law
international maritime
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 On the occasion of the Queen's Speech read yesterday by the Prince
Charles heir to the British throne on the occasion of the inauguration
of the start of the new parliamentary session was
presented the bill on the minimum wage of seafarers
employed in the regular maritime services calling at the ports of the
United Kingdom. This is the legislative proposal that has been
defined by the government following the decision implemented in half
March by P&O Ferries to dismiss 800 seafarers who
has aroused heated protests still not dormant so much so that even yesterday
there have been demonstrations of protest under the headquarters
Londoner of DP World, the Dubai group that owns the
shipping company
(
of 17
March 2022).-
- The aim of the bill is that these seafarers
receive a wage equivalent to at least the national minimum wage
of the United Kingdom. The intention is to prohibit ferries with
seafarers who are not paid the equivalent of the minimum wage of
dock in UK ports. Being mostly
of international sea routes, the government of London has
specified that it is addressing this issue in the context of
ongoing bilateral discussions with France, the Netherlands, Spain,
Germany, Ireland and Denmark, with the aim of ensuring that the
sea routes between the various nations become real
"minimum wage corridors".
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- The Minister of Transport confirmed the absolute will
of the government to go all the way: "we will not stop in front of us
to nothing - assured Grant Shapps - to ensure that seafarers
in UK ports are paid fairly. The shameful
P&O Ferries shares - added the minister - not
represent the principles of our maritime sector which is
world leader and change the law on safeguards
of seafarers' salaries is a clear signal for
all about the fact that we will not tolerate economic harassment on
workers. We will protect all seafarers who sail regularly
to and from UK ports and we will make sure they are not
excluded from work. Ferry operators that call at a stopover
regularly in UK ports - threatened Shapps -
they will suffer consequences if they do not pay their own fairly
workers'.
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- The government's intention is to amend the law on
seafarers' salaries during the parliamentary session
just inaugurated and to this end has opened a consultation period
with the maritime and port sector lasting four
weeks.
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- The first doubts about the content of the proposal are
from the British Ports Association (BPA). Indeed, more than
doubts, the association of British ports has stated in practice
that the bill does not stand. "The creation of
new rules for ports to regulate ships in
this way - replied the association - is without
history. The application of the minimum wage - explained the BPA -
it is not an area where ports have a specific competence.
This should be a job for Maritime & Coastguard
Agency or for HM Revenue & Customs. The ports - recalled
the association - facilitate the safe and efficient movement of
ships, cargo, passengers and maritime activities, are not
regulators'.
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- But the criticism of the Association of British Ports does not
"It is not clear - specified the BPA - if
the bill will achieve the government's objectives of
to improve long-standing problems affecting seafarers. Ours
Initial assessment is that it may not be compatible
with the United Kingdom's obligations under the Treaties
international or with the current principles that govern our
independent port sector'.
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- Reiterating that in the opinion of BPA the task of ensuring that
seafarers are paid the minimum wage should fall on the
Coast Guard and not on ports, the Director General of the
British Ports Association, Richard Ballantyne, noted that the
Government believes the Maritime & Coastguard Agency cannot
to do so 'on the basis of the United Kingdom's obligations towards
of international maritime law, since every ship is
subject to the rules, including wage rules, of his State of
flag, i.e. the country in which the ship is registered. The
Ministers - noted Ballantyne - believe they can circumvent
this problem by imposing on ports the obligation to implement the
"internal" provisions. BPA - he specified - is
Concerned about the UK Government's expectations of
use of ports as a maritime police tool. The sector -
ballantyne recalled - he is not equipped for these challenges
which are more typically assigned to government agencies.
In the UK there are 36 government agencies that have
border powers, including HMRC and the Border Force. In the last
three decades - concluded Ballantyne - the port policy of the
government in the four states of the United Kingdom was that of
support an independent and open port sector. This has
successful resulting in a port sector that is
resilient and has invested large sums of private capital in
skills and infrastructure'.
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- While welcoming the initiatives to extend the
rights of seafarers working on ferries that climb ports
of the United Kingdom, the nautilus International union also has
expressed some doubts about the possible outcomes of the
new legislation presented by the government. Recalling that "the
seafarers working on ferries between UK ports, e.g.
example between Larne and Cairnryan, they are already subject to the
national minimum wage", the union noted that "a
national legislation applying the national minimum wage to
ferries operated on international routes to and from the United Kingdom,
although it represents a welcome initiative, it will not prevent
the actions of P&O Ferries and others aimed at destabilizing the
UK ferry sector and threatening the work of a
more seafarers residing in the United Kingdom. Without urgent
complementary legislative measures to enforce "corridors"
minimum wages" proposed by the minister as part of his
package - explained Nautilus International - alone the
UK legislation would not guarantee working seafarers
on ferries on international trips to receive regularly
at least the minimum wage. In this sense - highlighted the
trade union - international cooperation is essential'.
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- Nautilus International also recalled that it had presented
the government, together with the RMT trade union and representatives of the sector,
the "Fair Ferries Strategy", a proposal aimed at
create minimum standards of employment and security within the
collective contractual agreements in the ferry sector. The
proposal provides for all ferry companies that
operate with the United Kingdom the obligation to cooperate with the parties
and to apply as a minimum what has been agreed,
with expertise on verifying compliance with these obligations
entrusted to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
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- "We are pleased - reiterated the secretary general of
Nautilus International, Mark Dickinson - that the government wants
ensure that P&O Ferries' despicable actions cannot
more occur. Unfortunately - he specified - the
Queen's Speech Does Not Address Complexities
maritime use and ending the possibility for
employers to exploit their maritime professionals. The
amendments to the Harbour's Act that the government will present -
warned Dickinson - they simply would not achieve the result
wished to reverse P&O Ferries and
ensure that this can never happen again."
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- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
phone: +39.010.2462122, fax: +39.010.2516768, e-mail
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