Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament on Wednesday that the government would write to British port operators, denying them access to companies that did not pay the UK’s minimum interest rate, adding: “This will have full support. of the goverment .” He also outlined plans to set up “minimum wage corridors” on ferry services between the United Kingdom and other countries. P&O Ferries erupted in a flurry of criticism and calls for action after its chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, acknowledged in an emergency committee hearing that the company had deliberately ignored labor law requiring companies to consult staff before making redundancies. It intends to hire cheaper workers who will not be subject to UK minimum wage legislation. Hemblewate, whose basic annual salary is 5 325,000, told lawmakers last week that the average pay for the agency’s crew was 50 5.50 an hour. The minimum wage in the UK for people aged 23 and over is 91 8.91 per hour. Shapps wrote a letter to the Insolvency Service, the company that regulates corporate executives, saying he believed Hebblethwaite’s actions were tantamount to “sharp practices” that should exclude him from leading a British company. The government will seek to introduce primary legislation amending the Ports Act of 1965 to include the minimum wage provision. However, it is obliged to consult the public before making changes, so the government will seek to use the voluntary block to ensure that “P&O Ferries can not reap any benefits from their cynical actions,” Shapps said. The government is also considering changes to labor law to target “dismissal and re-employment”, a deeply controversial practice used by large companies to reduce wages. Saps said the government would consider allowing courts or labor courts to consider dismissal and giving them the power to award 25% more in employment arrangements. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk The changes – some of which have been called for by opposition politicians and unions for years – come amid criticism of the government for failing to respond to the dismissals. Shapps said ministers had instructed HM Revenue and Customs to scrutinize P&O Ferries’ tax cases to ensure it met minimum wage requirements. The Shipping and Coast Guard, a government agency, has also seized two P&O Ferries, the European Causeway in Larne, Northern Ireland and the Pride of Kent in Dover. P&O complained that the agency was exercising “an unprecedented level of rigor” in its security inspections, according to the Press Association.
