SEAFARERS’ union RMT demanded urgent action from the government today to ensure unions can take pre-emptive legal action against law-breaking employers before they carry out mass sackings like those seen at P&O Ferries.

The union is calling for the introduction of a pre-emptive injunctive relief power, allowing unions to stop rogue employers in the courts before they axe unionised crews and replace them with agency labour on poverty pay and exploitative rotas.

Speaking on the Day of the Seafarer — an International Maritime Organisation event, celebrating the invaluable contribution of seafarers to global trade and the world economy — general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “If we are serious about saying ‘No More P&Os,’ then we need laws that let unions get into court and stop the damage before it happens, not after workers’ jobs and lives have already been torn apart.

“The government’s progress on the Seafarers Charter and the Employment Rights Bill is welcome, but now it’s time to finish the job.”