UK Parliament / Open data

Seafarers’ Wages Bill [HL]

Proceeding contribution from Lord Hendy (Labour) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 12 October 2022. It occurred during Debate on bills and Committee proceeding on Seafarers’ Wages Bill [HL].

My Lords, this group of amendments seeks to extend the protections given by the Bill. My noble friend Lord Berkeley will speak to the question of whether Clauses 4 and 9 should stand part of the Bill and my noble friend Lord Tunnicliffe will speak to Amendment 25, which seeks an impact assessment in relation to roster patterns, pensions and wages, and Amendment 26 on engagement with trade unions.

My amendments are Amendments 3, 13 and 14. I have now convinced myself that Amendment 3 is completely unnecessary. I was trying to ensure that the protection in Section 40 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, which deals with residency of seafarers, or lack of it, would still be a condition for engaging the Act where the seafarer was a regular visitor to UK ports but not resident in the UK. On reflection, it seems that it is not necessary to refer to Section 40 because Clause 2(c) specifically engages the National Minimum Wage Act as a whole, and therefore Section 40.

5.30 pm

Amendment 13 relates to Clause 4. It seeks a specific inclusion of the prohibition in the National Minimum Wage Regulations that prevents deductions from pay of the costs of providing seafarers’ accommodation, food and water. In fact, those regulations have detailed provisions about how accommodation is to be taken into account. The proposition I put to the Minister is that these should be included in the national minimum wage equivalent that the Bill intends to confer on seafarers. She questioned whether ship operators would really bother treating seafarers’ wages in a way that sought to remove every penny available but that is in fact the reality. I am told by the RMT that there have been occasions when seafarers’ accommodation and food have been deducted from their pay. That is obviously a completely unacceptable practice that should be outlawed; this is the purpose of Amendment 13.

Amendment 14 is also to Clause 4. Clause 4(2) says:

“For the purposes of this Act, the national minimum wage equivalent is an hourly rate specified in regulations.”

Subsection (5) then says that

“a non-qualifying seafarer is for the purposes of this section remunerated at a rate equal to the national minimum wage equivalent only if their remuneration is in all the circumstances broadly equivalent”.

I would make it “at least” equal to the national minimum wage equivalent in order to preclude ship operators simply confining wages to the national minimum wage equivalent, although I accept that that will be the general practice. I beg to move.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
824 c104GC 
Session
2022-23
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
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