Indian seafarers hired to replace sacked P&O Ferries crews are being paid just 1.81 ($2.38) an hour, a union has claimed.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), which represents many of the 800 workers who were fired without warning last week, has accused the ferry company of paying their replacements well below the minimum wage.
Mike Lynch, RMT general secretary has called the figure ‘a shocking exploitation’ of seafarers and ‘another gut-wrenching betrayal of those who have been sacked’.
‘The rule of law and acceptable norms of decent employment and behaviour have completely broken down beneath the white cliffs of Dover and in other ports, yet five days into this national crisis the Government has done nothing to stop it,’ he said.
‘These ships of shame must not be allowed to sail. The Government has to step in now and take control before it’s too late.’
The minimum wage in the UK for people aged 23 and above is 8.91 per hour.
But shipping companies registered in other countries and operating routes from UK ports to Europe can pay below the minimum wage because they are exempt from UK employment law.
‘The weakness in UK employment law has not only allowed the mass dismissing of UK seafarers it has also incentivised this barbaric behaviour because employers know there may be no effective sanction to stop them doing so, and on top of that they can get away with paying below the minimum wage,’ Mr Lynch added.
He said while agency staff may start on higher wages...
In January of 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice reported a record-breaking year for False Claims Act recoveries, with the vast majority related to healthcare. What the DOJ report does not captu...