Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce legislation to provide UK seafarers with equivalent (a) redundancy, (b) dismissal protections and (c) other employment rights to onshore workers.

The Government is committed to strengthening workers’ rights at sea, and the Employment Rights Bill includes measures to improve protections for seafarers facing collective redundancy, and powers to protect the working conditions of seafarers aboard frequent international services. My Department will continue to engage with the maritime trade unions and the sector more broadly about the application of employment rights to seafarers, as well as working with like-minded states and social partners to drive up international standards.