P&O Cruises and Cunard, another cruise company, have planned to terminate and rehire over 900 crew members based in the UK if they do not agree to reduced salaries and more adaptable work schedules.
The impacted personnel consist of the officers on the British flagship, the luxurious ocean liner Queen Mary 2, and nine other ships managed by Carnival UK, a division of the Carnival group, which is valued at $18 billion.
The employees operate on vessels departing from Southampton, but they are hired through a management firm located in Bermuda. Any possible layoffs are approved by an overseeing executive situated in Mumbai.
A representative from Carnival UK stated on Thursday evening that the company has no plans to lay off any employees. They also clarified that they will not terminate and then rehire staff members. In fact, they have actually hired more staff for their fleet. This is part of their yearly salary evaluation for maritime officers on board their ships, which aims to create consistency and motivate their staff. The goal is to have the best possible teams on each ship and to attract and retain skilled workers.
Unless they accept modifications in their terms and conditions that could result in a reduction of their annual income by 20%, a combined 919 employees in professional, managerial, and technical roles on Carnival UK and Cunard’s 10 cruise ships will face termination in early 2024.
Last week, the Insolvency Service of the UK government received a notification using the HR1 form. This form is typically used by employers to fulfill their obligation of informing officials about significant layoffs.
The employment agency for Carnival, Fleet Maritime Services, stated on the document that there are no plans for layoffs. The consultations are focused on adjustments to working days and arrangements rather than job cuts.
If a consensus cannot be reached on new conditions, dismissal and re-engagement may be taken into account.
According to the submission, the consultation with staff representatives regarding proposed changes did not begin until 14 November, which was the day before the form was submitted to the government.
The union representing maritime workers, Nautilus International, announced its support for members impacted by the situation. Senior National Organiser Garry Elliot stated that they are persistently urging Carnival UK to retract their plans to dismiss and rehire employees and instead participate in productive discussions.
“We urge the UK government to take note of the P&O Ferries situation and prohibit the manipulative tactic of fire and rehire. It is unacceptable for employers to show disregard for their employees and manipulate their livelihoods in order to enforce significant changes to their contracts.”
This action bears similarities to the previous employment controversy caused by P&O Ferries, a different company not affiliated with the current one. The ferry company operating between the UK and France reportedly exploited a loophole in laws by abruptly terminating nearly 800 British seafarers and replacing them with lower-paid agency workers.
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P&O Cruises attempted to separate itself from this occurrence in promotional videos, while members of parliament also emphasized that the two companies were not affiliated. P&O Ferries is under the ownership of Dubai-based DP World, while P&O Cruises is a division of the British-American Carnival Corporation and plc, which is incorporated in Panama.
The majority of the staff on cruise ships are hired through agencies located in Asia, specifically in Mumbai.
In 2012, it was discovered that P&O Cruises was paying their employees as little as 75p per hour as their basic salary.
“The current situation is reminiscent of past events. The actions of negligent employers are once again causing turmoil for countless seafarers who are powerless to stop it.”
The ministers have failed to take action and have disregarded multiple warnings that this situation would reoccur unless they intervened by making changes to the law. The responsibility for this situation falls on them.
Source: theguardian.com
