MORE must be done to prevent another P&O Ferries scandal, the RMT said on its fourth anniversary today.

The maritime union said that major loopholes remain four years after the company unlawfully sacked 800 workers and replaced them with agency labour.

It called for stronger legal and enforcement powers to stop rogue operators exploiting workers.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that seafarers are still awaiting proper protections.

“The government has taken some steps in the right direction since those 800 workers were disgracefully sacked, but there is more to do to make sure this can never happen again,” he added.

“For too long, rogue employers like P&O Ferries have been able to exploit legal loopholes, sack and replace staff or drive down wages, negatively impacting the future employment of UK seafarers within the sector.

“Unions and ministers need the power to take pre-emptive legal action to stop mass redundancies before they happen, block companies from breaking employment law and hold rogue operators accountable before workers lose their livelihoods.

“Seafarers deserve the same employment protections as workers on land. 

“The Employment Rights Bill should apply to seafarers in full and the threshold for UK port calls should be lowered so more crews are covered by fair pay and decent conditions including safe roster patterns.”

RMT added that it is “scandalous” that the Insolvency Service has still not published its report into whether P&O Ferries committed a civil offence.

Department for Business and Trade Minister Blair McDougall MP has told Parliament that the average time taken by the service to investigate corporate civil misconduct in the six months to September 30 2025 was 188 days.