Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed P&O Ferries broke the law and warned it faces fines if found guilty.
He called it a ‘callous’ way to treat people, and vowed any replacement staff would have to be paid the minimum wage.
It follows reports P&O planned to pay sub-contracted workers less than £2.00 an hour.
Johnson told in the Commons ‘it looks’ as though P&O broke employment law.
“We will take them to court. If the company is found guilty then they face fines running into millions, and in addition we will be taking steps to protect all mariners who are working in UK waters.”
“We are going to make sure everyone working in the UK economic zone gets paid the living wage.”
However, employment law experts have cast doubt on Johnson’s claim UK laws were broken.
Johnson referred to a 1990s law which has-been updated, potentially letting P&O off the hook.
Tim Tyndall, employment partner at Keystone Law, told the BBC the law was updated in 2018.
“It has not been breached as the competent authority for these foreign registered ships is the government of where they are registered,” Tyndall said, referring to the specific clause covering P&O’s actions.
CEO Peter Hebblethwaite is set to be grilled by MPs today.
“We needed fundamental change to make us viable. This was an incredibly difficult decision that we wrestled with but once we knew it was the only way to save the business, we had to,” Hebblethwaite said this week.
