One year on from P&O Ferries, the government is still letting workers down

A year ago today P&O Ferries made nearly 800 workers redundant with only half an hour’s notice.

Experienced sailors with an average of 20 years on the job were replaced with inexperienced and poorly paid agency staff.

But for all the strong words from ministers, 12 months later British workers are more vulnerable than ever.

P&O Ferries was able to get away with its actions because weak UK employment meant any sanctions would be outweighed by the savings they could make on their wage bill.

We know this because the chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite openly admitted P&O Ferries had broken the law when questioned by MPs.

The government promised swift action to prevent a scandal like P&O Ferries occurring again.

But the Insolvency Service declined to pursue criminal charges for P&O Ferries' failure to inform the authorities of its plans in time. It also hasn’t sought to disqualify P&O Ferries' directors.

Ministers have done little to close the legal loopholes P&O Ferries exploited

The Seafarer’s Wages Bill is intended to ensure that all vessels that dock at UK ports a minimum of 120 times a year have to pay at least National Minimum Wage equivalent. This gives a lot of scope for employers to avoid it.

On top of that, the surcharges imposed on operators who fail to pay NMWe are determined by port authorities. These might be the same companies that operate the ferries; and if not they will be motivated to set the charges low to secure business from ferry operators.

In either case there is ample potential for charges to be set so low that it is economical for operators to pay well below the NMWe and pay the surcharges as the cost of doing business.

Laws intended to force employers to consult with workers, inform state authorities of their plans and do proper health and safety checks have been left untouched.

The right to strike is under attack

Not only have ministers failed to prevent another P&O Ferries, they have gone out of their way to undermine workers rights and leave them more vulnerable.

The government is rushing through legislation that could impose minimum service levels if workers in transport workers, teachers, nurses, border force, fire and ambulance services and in nuclear decommissioning take industrial action. This is a draconian attack on the right to strike.

It has already been condemned by trade unions across the world and criticised by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Rest assured if the government succeeds, it wont stop there: more and more workers will find their democratic right drastically undermined.

The government that swept to power promising to enshrine workers rights in law has done little but undermine them.

It’s been a year since the P&O Ferries sackings, but nothing has been done to stop another one.