CASES
UK: Illegal wages in P&O scandal
Two years after a national scandal in which 786 seafarers were dismissed by British ferry company P&O, the Guardian revealed their replacement agency crew were paid less than half the legal minimum wage.
Their ‘union’ at the time: ISU-Lanibra.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Nautilus UK, told the UK Government:
“… ISU has been created to give a veneer that P&O Ferries is committed to working with trade unions when in reality it exists to rubber stamp P&O Ferries’ exploitative crewing model.”
REPORT
UK -P&O Ferries: illegally low wages March 2022
On 17 March 2022, 786 seafarers were summarily dismissed by British company P&O Ferries to be replaced by a far cheaper agency crew. The news provoked outrage and condemnation across the political spectrum, in the UK media and among the public, with the event labelled “gangster practice”, “savage” and one of the “most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations”.
Two years on, a Guardian investigation found workers in the replacement crew – provided by Malta-based crewing agency, Philcrew Management Ltd, subsequently renamed, Philtech – were being paid less than half the UK minimum wage, working 17 weeks of 12-hour days. Shockingly, these wages and conditions were detailed in documents, seen by the ITF, prepared for Philcrew and signed by ISU-Lanibra in 2023.
This prompted ITF affiliates, UK trade unions, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Nautilus, to write to government stating that:
“… ISU has been created to give a veneer that P&O Ferries is committed to working with trade unions when in reality it exists to rubber stamp P&O Ferries’ exploitative crewing model.” 17
Time after time, ISU-Lanibra has neither prevented nor resolved critical cases of wage theft, abandonment, and other serious human and labour rights violations. Seafarers under their agreements rely on the ITF to uphold their basic rights – demonstrating that, despite ISU-Lanibra’s claims of “assistance,” real protection for seafarers on vessels with ISU-Lanibra agreements is coming from elsewhere.
CASES
BRAZIL: SEAFARERS ABANDONED WITHOUT PAY
An international crew of seafarers on the Eleen Eva were abandoned in Brazil – and subject to wage theft of USD178,000. They reached out to ISU, but no one ever replied. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) stepped in to help: the seafarers were repatriated and received their stolen wages in full. REPORT Brazil – […]
Greece: “Defamation, illegal acquisition, accepting the products of crime”
The Greek union, the Panhellenic Seaman’s Federation, has filed a lawsuit against ISU President Ludvik Jesenicnik.
Finland: stolen wages, ISU binned
Finland is a hot spot for trade union action against ships with ISU-Lanibra agreements: the Finnish Seafarers’ Union (SMU) has taken action against ships from 2018 through to today. In one case, after a ship docked in Rauma in 2020 and refused access to an ITF inspector who was made aware of crew complaints, the […]
Sweden: blockades scrap ISU deals
Sweden’s Service and Communications Union blockaded a bulk carrier that tried to dock in Uddevalla with an ISU-Lanibra agreement.
Australia: Fair Work Ombudsman investigates underpayment on ISU-Lanibra ships
If the complaints are upheld by the regulator, the companies could be subjected to heavy fines, compliance notices or litigation.
Thailand: ITF answers seafarer’s plea for help
At no point did any ISU-Lanibra representative reply. After the ITF intervened, the seafarer received his owed wages.
Israel: Sham union agreement, stolen wages
Three months after failing to pay a seafarer in Thailand, the same ship – still under a sham ISU-Lanibra agreement – was abandoned in Israel.