Pleas by MPs to force maritime operators to sign up to a new charter aimed at protecting seafarers from mistreatment have been rejected by the Government.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said its Seafarers Charter – announced following the mass sackings by P&O Ferries in March 2022 – will “initially launch on a voluntary basis”.
This was in response to a Transport Select Committee report in March 2023 which warned that making the charter optional “will not give the assurances and protections that seafarers want and deserve”.
It is a shame that ministers are still committed to making this voluntary— Iain Stewart, Transport Select Committee chairman
The charter is expected to contain measures relating to the welfare, working hours and pay of maritime sector staff.
The DfT said: “We continue to explore options to further enhance seafarer welfare and keep the need for further legislation under review.
“We will monitor the uptake of the charter and actively keep under review the need for further legislation.”
It added that legislating for employment protections in an industry that is governed by international law is “complex”, and “further research is required”.
The DfT also said it will carry out a wide-ranging review of its policies to modernise the UK’s maritime sector, establishing a new cross-departmental Maritime Council.
The Select Committee’s report urged the department to streamline the “muddle” of 184 recommendations it set itself four years ago.
Conservative MP Iain Stewart, who chairs the committee, said: “Top of our agenda with this report was urging ministers to bring some order to the muddle of recommendations in its Maritime 2050 strategy.
“Credit was due to the Government for producing it in the first place, and now we welcome their agreement to sift through it and regularly monitor progress.”
He added: “If the Government wishes to be a leading maritime force it needs to invest in its people both in terms of skills and welfare.
“The committee recommended that the Seafarers’ Welfare Charter be mandatory. It is a shame that ministers are still committed to making this voluntary.”
