Contributions
1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD P&O FerriesThe simple answer, in this case, is that we want to stop it ever getting that far and we will do that by forcing such employers to pay the minimum wage in the first place. I…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesI should point out again that P&O Cruises is not in any way, shape or form related to what has happened here. It is the people at P&O Ferries who are very much in the dock. With…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesI should point out that the workers involved, many of whom I have been speaking to, frankly do not want to go back and work for P&O Ferries and/or have already accepted jobs…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesThe simple fact is that this package will finally ensure that the whole seafaring community is on a level playing field—or a level sea—when it comes to channel crossings and that…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesThe right hon. Gentleman raises many important points. As he rightly points out, one of the ships has already been detained in Northern Ireland. Stena Line has been doing a great…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesThe right hon. Gentleman is right to point out that this is an international issue. It is worth saying that during the pandemic, we got a UN resolution through to recognise…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesI apologise to my right hon. Friend and other Kent MPs, because I appreciate that the situation with P&O has caused considerable disruption. We have put the moveable barrier in…30 Mar 2022HANSARD P&O FerriesNeedless to say, I am very grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s comments on this statement. It is a serious attempt to sort out something that internationally has not been…30 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsMy understanding—again, the House will have a strong view on this—is that they are being offered two and a half weeks’ pay, rather than one week’s pay for every year’s service, as…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsMy understanding is that a very small number of officials were contacted by P&O management during the late afternoon. They then wrote up a read-out of that, which is, I think, the…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI really want to avoid the temptation to try to turn this into a political knockabout— [ Interruption. ] It is not. It is about 800 people’s jobs. When the previous two rounds of…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI directly answered the hon. Gentleman’s question, but that seems to have brought derision, so I think I will make some progress to let the House, the country and those seafarers…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI thank the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Louise Haigh) for bringing this debate forward. It is important that this should be fully discussed, although we have already had an…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI want to make a little progress. Those plans will mean that passengers and freight traffic will be as little affected as possible. While I welcome P&O’s plan to resume ferry…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI do not have details of how the ships will be recrewed. The hon. Lady will be aware that we are still putting maximum pressure on the company to sit down around the table with…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI absolutely respect the hon. Gentleman’s knowledge and expertise, and I thank him publicly for ensuring that I was receiving information as he saw it break on the ground through…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsI just want to complete my speech. Others wish to speak, not least Members on the hon. Lady’s side of the House. I say to P&O, “Please, repair some of the damage done last week by…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsIn 12 years we have done an awful lot, and I am just about to tell the hon. Lady about it. As I was saying, that is why in our maritime 2050 strategy, which she may not have read,…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsThe right hon. Lady says I am “so annoying” but—[Hon. Members: “Division!”] [ Laughter. ] I see that the Opposition have the advantage right now. I am trying to explain that the…21 Mar 2022HANSARDP&O Ferries and Employment RightsThe laws apply in UK territorial waters, so I believe that they do. I will contact the right hon. Gentleman with the detail. Despite the current disruption to P&O services, I can…21 Mar 2022