Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve seafarer (a) pay and (b) employment conditions on vessels which provide regular shipping services from UK (i) ports and (ii) Freeports but fall out of scope of the measures in the Seafarers Wages Bill and are not covered by collective bargaining agreements with the maritime trade unions.

The Department with input from industry and maritime trade unions is developing the voluntary Seafarers’ Charter to improve working conditions for seafarers. The charter will set minimum standards for overtime pay, access to social protections and address the use of voyage contracts. Further information about the Charter and its provisions will be made available in due course.

We are also looking to implement the improvements to employment conditions for seafarers that were agreed with the support of the UK at the May 2022 meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention. The amendments to the Convention include those to ensure that food and drinking water of appropriate quality is provided free of charge and that seafarers are provided with details of insurance before or during the engagement process. The Department has also supported guidelines requiring the provision of internet access to seafarers on ships in port at free or low cost and has commissioned research on this to ensure the UK remains at forefront of the global seafaring community.

We are in ongoing discussions with international partners, industry and trade unions to drive forward seafarer working conditions.