P&O Ferries boss paid £508k last year admits paying workers £4.87 per hour

The top executive of P&O Ferries has confessed to paying his employees as low as £4.87 per hour. This admission comes almost two years after the company was branded as "pirates" for abruptly dismissing scores of staff.

When addressing the Business and Trade Committee MPs, Peter Hebblethwaite repeatedly confirmed that P&O employees were not subject to exploitation. He was also hesitant to support demands for an independent inquiry into the firm's employment strategies.

Hebblethwaite, who told the committee he could not survive on a £4.87 hourly wage, also revealed that he made an income of £508,000 last year, which included a bonus amounting to £183,000. He also refused to answer the question from Liam Byrne MP - "Are you a modern day pirate?"

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Arguing his case before the committee, Mr Hebblethwaite claimed: "We are paying considerably ahead of the international minimum standard. We believe that it is right that as an international business operating in international waters, we should be governed by international law."

"All we want is a level playing field with our competitors."

Mr Hebblethwaite's appearance follows the furore surrounding when P&O Ferries dismissed 786 crew members two years ago, filling their positions with less expensive workers hired from an outside crew agency.

The firm discharged its staff without any proper notice or union discussion, leading to public criticism from ministers, unions, and the general population. However, The Insolvency Service announced that they would not move forward with any criminal action against the firm owned by Dubai-based DP World since 2019.

It was revealed to MPs in 2022 that P&O Ferries, after dismissing its staff, had been using overseas agency workers at an average pay of £5.50 per hour. However, a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News has indicated that some of these agency workers may have been receiving as little as £4.87 per hour, a figure confirmed by P&O's CEO Peter Hebblethwaite on Tuesday.

During a committee hearing, chair Liam Byrne posed a pointed question to Mr Hebblethwaite: "Are you basically a modern day pirate?"

Mr Hebblethwaite chose not to directly address the query. Later, Mr Byrne probed further, asking: "Do you think you could live on £4.87 an hour? ".

To this, Mr Hebblethwaite admitted: "No, I couldn't."

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols pressed for Mr Hebblethwaite to agree to an independent review of the firm's employment practices, which he declined.

In his defence, he stated: "You can take from the retention levels that the crewing agent experiences and their ability to recruit the highest standard of international seafarers is hard evidence that people who could work anywhere in the world on any ships have chosen to work for P&O."

At the time, the UK's minimum wage stood at £10.42 per hour, increasing to £11.44 in April.

Nevertheless, these rates are not applicable to maritime workers hired through foreign agencies, working on internationally registered ships in international waters. The Government had vowed to rectify this exemption two years prior, following the controversial redundancies made by P&O Ferries.

Earlier this year, the company indicated that it anticipates new legislation aimed at tackling the issue to come into force this summer, following France's lead in implementing a similar law.

Mr Hebblethwaite has recently consented to sign up to a voluntary Government Seafarers' Charter, pledging to pay maritime workers at least the UK minimum wage while in British waters. He stated that the company would commit to the charter "within months".

In response to queries about whether the impending legal changes might lead to further redundancies and significant staffing alterations, Mr Hebblethwaite was unable to provide a definitive answer.

Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, criticised Hebblethwaite's lack of commitment, stating that his reaction demonstrates "zero remorse" for the mass dismissal of employees.

He continued by expressing astonishment that P&O Ferries has not faced any penalties for its actions and that its parent entity DP World continues to secure government contracts.