Maritime union RMT says it is it staging two protests in Portsmouth over the ‘poverty wages’ that Condor pays the foreign staff working on its ferries to the Channel Islands.
The protests are due to be held on Saturday 22 December and Saturday 12 January. However, Condor has dismissed the union’s claims and says it ‘fully adheres to’ domestic and international employment regulations covering wages and terms and conditions.
In a statement, the union said Condor exploited foreign seafarers by paying them ‘well below’ national minimum wages in the UK, Jersey and Guernsey.
And it said it was calling on trade unionists, politicians and Islanders to support
its demand for the introduction of a ferry operator on the Channel Islands route that pays, as the minimum, a living wage of £9.75 per hour.
RMT also claimed that Condor’s contracts with Jersey and Guernsey were coming up for renewal and that the demonstration would clearly show politicians that they must ‘send Condor packing’.
A Condor spokesman said RMT’s claim that the company’s contract with Jersey and Guernsey was up for renewal next year was ‘erroneous’.
He added: ‘Condor is a proud and responsible employer and the RMT’s comments made in relation to our treatment of staff are totally incorrect.
‘We stand by our previous comments on the matter. Condor fully adheres to, and indeed exceeds, domestic and international employment regulations covering the wages and terms and conditions of staff, and this includes compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.
‘A very small number of non-EU seafarers are employed through a specialist recruitment agency and many return to work for Condor time and time again in preference to other opportunities.’
