Carnival UK has committed not to fire and rehire its cruise ship staff, after it was revealed that the company had made provisions to potentially dismiss and re-engage more than 900 seafarers on its P&O Cruises and Cunard fleet.
The cruise operator’s Bermuda-based employment firm last week notified authorities including the UK Insolvency Service of a consultation to vary the terms and conditions of 919 maritime workers across its 10 UK-based ships.
On the HR1 form, a type of document that is normally used to give legal notice of redundancies, Carnival UK said there were no redundancies proposed, but added: “Dismissal and re-engagement may be considered if agreement cannot be reached on new terms.”
The Nautilus union, which was notified of the filing on Wednesday evening, argued that the company’s proposals could mean staff losing up to 20% of their annual take-home pay.
However, after talks on Friday, Carnival UK announced it had rescinded the HR1 form and with Nautilus issued a joint statement saying both parties were “committed to engaging in meaningful consultation”.
In the statement, they said: “Nautilus International and Carnival UK are able to confirm, following joint discussions held this afternoon, that both parties are committed to engaging in meaningful consultation in finding a way forward following the start of consultation on proposed contractual changes for 919 maritime professionals.
“Carnival UK have reassured Nautilus International of there being no intent to undertake steps towards dismissal and re-engagement and have rescinded the HR1 form submitted to the insolvency service, while providing an update to the relevant Bermudan authorities.
“Both Nautilus International and Carnival UK are working cooperatively towards a negotiated settlement in the interest of all parties.”
FTSE 100-listed Carnival earlier said that it was “categorically not making any redundancies” and had “significantly increased our headcount across our fleet”.
The company said the HR1 form had been submitted as a legal obligation in “an annual pay review process with our maritime officers onboard our ships which will ensure alignment. This will empower our staff, deliver the right teams across our fleet and attract and retain talent to work on our ships.”
Nautilus executive officer Martyn Gray said withdrawing the HR1 form was a welcome move from Carnival UK. He said: “We thank them for their commitment to not dismiss and re-engage and look forward to working with them to come to a negotiated settlement in the interests of all parties.”
He added: “However, fire and rehire or dismissal and re-engagement, should never be an option for any employer to force changes to terms and conditions and the UK government should commit to outlawing this, a statutory code of practice is not enough.”
