“Four years on from the disgraceful P&O Ferries scandal, seafarers are still waiting for proper protections.”
By the RMT
More must be done to protect seafarers and prevent another corporate scandal, four years after P&O Ferries unlawfully sacked 800 workers and replaced them with agency labour.
The Labour government has taken positive steps since the scandal to improve pay protections for ferry crews, but RMT says major loopholes remain and stronger legal and enforcement powers are needed to stop rogue operators exploiting workers.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Four years on from the disgraceful P&O Ferries scandal, seafarers are still waiting for proper protections.
“The government has taken some steps in the right direction since those 800 workers were disgracefully sacked, but there is more to do to make sure this can never happen again.
“For too long, rogue employers like P&O ferries have been able to exploit legal loopholes, sack and replace staff or drive down wages, negatively impacting the future employment of UK seafarers within the sector”
“Unions and ministers need the power to take pre-emptive legal action to stop mass redundancies before they happen, block companies from breaking employment law and hold rogue operators accountable before workers lose their livelihoods.
“Seafarers deserve the same employment protections as workers on land. The Employment Rights Bill should apply to seafarers in full, and the threshold for UK port calls should be lowered so more crews are covered by fair pay and decent conditions, including safe roster patterns.”
RMT says the threshold of 120 UK port calls per year under the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023 should be lowered so more vessels operating from UK ports are covered by fair pay protections.
Mr Dempsey added: “Ministers have an opportunity to deliver real security and rights for seafarers, and we will continue to make those demands until we achieve justice and fairness for our members operating at sea.”
RMT also said it is scandalous that four years after the sackings, the Insolvency Service has still not published its report into whether P&O Ferries committed a civil offence.
The investigation has taken several times longer than the typical timeframe, raising serious questions about the delay.
According to a parliamentary answer from Blair McDougall to a question from John McDonnell MP, the average time taken by the Insolvency Service to investigate corporate civil misconduct in the six months to 30 September 2025 was 188 days.
The continued delay raises serious questions and must be addressed urgently.
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- This statement was originally posted by the RMT on 16 March 2026.
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