The UK transport minister has pledged to ensure foreign sailors working in the North Sea are paid the minimum wage.

John Hayes said he is “committed” to reviewing legislation which makes it legal to employ crew on less than £6.70 an hour if they are recruited overseas.

At times more than half of the foreign-flagged vessels contracted by the North Sea oil industry pay less than the basic rate, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

Some are paid as little as £2 an hour, the ITF claims.

On Thursday, Mr Hayes said: “I am committed to reviewing the legislation to ensure that it applies to the offshore sector.”

He was speaking in response to a question from Northern Isles Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael.

Mr Hayes said it was an area of “great concern” and noted his officials have been working with the Department for Business and HMRC to apply the national minimum wage “to seafarers in UK waters more generally”.

Mr Carmichael told STV News: “This is significant progress, but we will judge it on outcomes and not good intentions.”

It has been suggested it may be possible to expand existing minimum wage legislation to include foreign seafarers without altering it.

It is already possible for seafarers to apply for minimum wage protection on an individual basis if they can prove that they “ordinarily” work in the UK.

Campaigners believe this could be extended to automatically include all foreign sailors who regularly serve in British waters.

Last week, RMT union members held talks with the Scottish Government over claims that seafarers aboard Northern Isles ferries were being paid around £4 an hour.

Regional organiser Jake Molloy said: “This latest development is welcomed and it’s good news that the government has given an indication that they will go through with it.

“But actions speak louder than words and I’d like to see it moved on as quickly as possible.”

Northlink, which sub-contracted the route between Aberdeen and Shetland to Seatruck, has offered to cover the cost of paying the basic rate of £6.70 an hour.

Seatruck claims offering the minimum wage would “distort its fleet-wide pay structure”.

Jonathan Roberts, head of communications at the UK Chamber of Shipping, said: “Seafarers are paid salaries commensurate with the country in which they live. Seafarers living in the UK are paid at the UK market rate.

“Seafarers living in Norway are paid at the Norwegian rate and so on. This reflects differences in the cost of living in each country.

“The UK Chamber and leading offshore sector companies recently met with the secretary of state for Scotland, and separately a group of SNP MPs, to discuss how to protect and create Scottish jobs in the offshore shipping sector in the face of severe market conditions.”

He added: “In particular we are pushing government to consider benefits to the local supply chain and workforce when awarding government contracts.

“The existing regime does not provide a level playing field for British companies and workers in the offshore sector. That needs to change urgently.”

Source: stv.tv