Unions call for P&O Ferries boycott for allegedly paying below minimum wage

theguardian.com:

Unions have called for a commercial and consumer boycott of P&O Ferries, which is facing a fresh row over crew pay even as its sailings are set to resume on the Dover-Calais route.

The TUC urged freight firms and holidaymakers not to book on P&O Ferries, which broke the law when it sack nearly 800 crew last month, while the RMT union said it had evidence that agency workers brought in to replace those staff were being paid less than minimum wage.

“We have seen contracts of agency workers where they are being paid the equivalent of £4.35 an hour for 17 weeks work,” the RMT said. “This is less than half the current UK national minimum wage.”

The affected crew were on the Spirit of Britain, one of the Dover-based ferries, which has now been passed fit to sail after originally failing an inspection. That means sailings will resume this week, potentially as early as Tuesday, for lorries, with leisure travellers expected to be able to board the ferries next week.

P&O Ferries denied that they had cut pay and said it was an “administrative misunderstanding”, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it had investigated and upheld a complaint from the RMT.

The union said a crew member had alerted them saying he was “desperate” for help after his pay was apparently reduced by £195 on a new contract. A P&O Ferries spokesperson said the individual had been “unaware of an appendix which included made clear that he would be entitled to an additional £195 a month, meaning that there was no change in his overall pay”.

The spokesperson said: “There are no plans to change or reduce the wages of any of our agency seafarers and we have made clear that we will continue to comply fully with any national minimum wage obligations introduced by the