Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to review the application of employment law to renewable energy installations within the UK Exclusive Economic Zone for seafarers working out of UK ports.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently reviewing the application of employment law to renewable energy installations. We will continue to review the needs of the renewable energy sector and its workforce - and take action when needed - as we progress towards reaching Net Zero by 2050.
The Seafarers Wages Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, will mean (when law) that those seafarers who call regularly (at least 120 times a year) at UK ports will be entitled to an equivalent of the National Minimum Wage. This would include those seafarers working on ships to and from offshore renewable platforms.