Motion no: 19
Congress is concerned that P&O Ferries have still not been punished for their unlawful assault on seafarer jobs, including on the Cairnryan-Larne route, where employment agencies now supply all the labour to P&O Ferries and where seafarers could still be required to work for 17 week tours which cause fatigue and are completely unacceptable in a modern short sea ferry service.
Congress therefore welcomes the commitment of the new Labour Government to seek to prevent another P&O ferry scandal by introducing a mandatory Seafarers Employment Charter applicable on short sea international ferry routes. Whilst the final legislation and content of the Charter is, at the time of writing, still subject to discussion with the government, the principle of the Charter is that it would seek to prevent undercutting and a further race to the bottom by mandating minimum employment protections for seafarers.
Congress further notes that the French Government has already introduced legislation similar to a mandatory charter in response to the P&O Ferries scandal, capping seafarer roster patterns in the Channel at a maximum of two weeks and extending domestic employment rights, including the right to a decent pension for seafarers on international ferry services between the UK and France.
Congress supports a strong set of mandatory employment conditions for seafarers on all ferry services and asks that ICTU works with maritime affiliates to lobby relevant politicians in Northern Ireland to introduce the strongest possible Mandatory Charter for employment protections for all seafarers, including those working on economically vital ferry links between ports in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
