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RMT is taking the fight back
against P&O to Parliament as
part of a series of initiatives
and events to mark the
second anniversary of the
2022 St Patrick’s Day massacre
of 786 UK seafarer jobs on
P&O ships from Larne to
Dover.
They were replaced with
low paid agency crews
earning just £4 per hour on
four-month voyage only
contracts, even undercutting
Irish Ferries.
On the second anniversary
RMT, TUC and Nautilus jointly
accused the government of
having done nothing to
prevent another P&O style
attack on seafarers’ jobs and
supporting sectoral collective
bargaining through a New
Deal.
RMT general secretary Mick
Lynch called for a mandatory
Seafarers Charter with fair pay
agreements at the heart of a
revival of Ratings jobs and
skills in the UK maritime
industry, including on
international ferries and in the
offshore energy supply chain,
both of which are critical
elements of future economic
security.
The parliamentary
demonstration reinforced a
strong message to
government, politicians, the
public and employers that
there will be no let up during
this general election year on
the Tories’ failure to punish
P&O.
RMT assistant general
secretary Eddie Dempsey and
RMT national secretary Darren
Procter both linked the
scandalous assault on P&O
members’ jobs to the wider
problems of flags of
convenience and inept policy
responses from a government
that is simply not interested in
challenging the destructive
influence of shipowners like
DP World.
International trade unionists
joined Labour MPs and
Labour Peers in vocal support
the unions’ call for a
mandatory Seafarers Charter
as part of the New Deal for
Workers.
Shadow Employment
Minister Justin Madders MP
and Shadow Maritime Minister
Mike Kane MP both spoke to
re-state Labour’s firm
commitment to a mandatory
charter serving as a fair pay
agreement for seafarers in the
ferries sector.
Shadow Transport Secretary
Louise Haigh MP and RMT
TWO YEARS ON–
NO MORE P&Os!
Union calls for Seafarers Charter as government
attacks seafarers’ jobs and employment rights