THE government is planning to give seafarers greater protections for welfare and working conditions thanks to new legal requirements.

Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill could pave the way for a legally binding Seafarers’ Charter, which will allow ministers to set higher standards for seafarers’ rights and protect wages beyond British waters.

The move includes setting maximum periods of work at sea and minimum periods of rest, robust requirements to manage seafarer fatigue, and reinforced training requirements for operators.

The government said it marks a “major milestone” for the sector by ensuring seafarer protections in law, addressing the concerns of safe roster patterns and fatigue.

Ministers also said the measures will prevent exploitation and undercutting of working conditions. 

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “We promised to introduce a mandatory charter to improve working conditions and welfare for seafarers, and today we have delivered.

“Our hard-working seafarers keep the country safe and moving and that’s why it’s only right that we protect them.

“This charter will signal a new dawn for welfare whilst at sea.”

Unions welcomed the announcement, saying it should prevent another P&O Ferries scandal from happening, when hundreds of seafarers were fired and replaced with lower paid agency workers in 2022.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This charter is a really important step forward.

“For too long seafarers have been exposed to hyper-exploitation and a lack of enforceable rights.

“This was tested to destruction during the P&O Ferries scandal when 800 workers were sacked brutally and illegally over Zoom.

“By improving their pay and conditions, we can begin to give seafarers the same rights and protections as land-based workers.

“Unions stand ready to work with the government to ensure that good employers are not undercut by the bad.”

A spokesperson for the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said: “The P&O Ferries scandal was one of the most shameful episodes in the history of industrial relations and therefore RMT strongly welcomes amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.

“This can pave the way for the mandatory Seafarers’ Charter, which we have been campaigning for to help protect jobs and employment and to stop the race to the bottom in the ferry sector.

“We will now work at pace with government to build on this progress to establish the strongest possible set of employment conditions for all seafarers working on domestic or short-sea international ferry routes from UK ports.”