P&O Ferries: Transport Secretary tells boss to reinstate 800 sacked workers

Grant Shapps said seafarers deserved respect

Grant Shapps has written to P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite to give him "one final opportunity" to reinstate the 800 workers sacked by the ferry company earlier this month. The transport secretary told Hebblethwaitethe that new legislation will require all ferry companies operating out of UK ports to pay the national minimum wage - meaning the proposed average pay of £5.50 per hour could be unlawful. Safety concerns aboard vessels have been raised by former staff, after it was alleged the replacement crew was agency workers, being paid as little as £1.80 an hour. The P&O boss, who earns a base salary of £350,000 a year, confirmed during a select committee hearing last Thursday that the average wage among replacement employees on P&O vessels will be under minimum wage. He told MPs the wage levels were "competitive", and added: "Where we are required to pay national minimum wage, we will pay national minimum wage.” https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1508388807695118345?s=20&t=TGN50oAiDAhHahXk5Ln94Q