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Equality Bill

My Lords, I feel that we ought to have strong-armed my noble friend Lord Adonis into dealing with this question, given the new cast of noble Lords who have spoken. I turn to Amendments 28 and 29, which were tabled by my noble friend Lord Rosser. I warn him that I am about to disappoint him, but I will also outline some of the progress that has been made on this issue. Given the nature of shipping, it is necessary to specify how, when and where the provisions in Part 5 apply to work on ships and hovercraft. It is the Government’s intention to do so, through regulations which have already been drafted and were published on 30 November 2009. These amendments, however, remove the regulation-making power and seek to replicate the drafted regulations in the Bill, as the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, recognised. The Government would therefore not agree with this approach. It is common practice globally for seafarers’ pay to reflect the country where they are based and where their wages are likely to be spent, as was also mentioned by the noble Earl, Lord Attlee. This practice of pay differentiation is currently lawful in the UK by virtue of the Race Relations Act 1976. While there are economic arguments supporting the practice, many people clearly find it unacceptable. The draft regulations, and my noble friend’s amendment, make no reference to differential pay and would make the practice unlawful. The difference is that the regulation-making power allows the legal position to be established, following full consideration of all economic and equity arguments. Secondary legislation also provides greater flexibility, allowing, if necessary, for further regulations to be made as the law develops. My noble friend Lord Clinton-Davis asked whether the shipping Minister regularly meets industry and unions. I can reassure him that the Minister is meeting the RMT tomorrow to discuss a range of issues, including those that are relevant to the Equality Bill. The Government must carefully consider the implications of ending the practice of differential pay, including the economic impact. There is no question of any form of differential pay for citizens of the EU, EEA or other designated states, but the possibility of putting UK employers at a significant commercial disadvantage against other employers, and leading them to consider deflagging their ships, has to be given serious consideration. I appreciate that further delay in reaching a final decision is very frustrating, but following publication of draft regulations in November, the Government called for evidence from stakeholders and received a number of responses. Full consideration must be given to this evidence, so the Department for Transport is commissioning a review. This will allow the Government to make a well informed decision on this issue very soon. They will then be in a position to introduce the regulations for approval as soon as possible after Royal Assent, to ensure that they come into force at the same time as Part 5 of the Bill. These regulations will be subject to the affirmative procedure and will undergo full parliamentary scrutiny. Amendment 30 would extend eligibility for the national minimum wage to seafarers on a ship of any flag trading solely between UK ports, anchorages, roadsteads or offshore installations. The Government have investigated this issue on numerous occasions, each time concluding that extension of the national minimum wage in this way would conflict with international law. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which the UK is party, grants foreign-flagged vessels the right to innocent passage through states’ territorial waters, and limits the ability of states to apply their laws to foreign-flagged vessels. Travel between UK ports, anchorages, roadsteads or offshore installations can require passage through UK territorial waters and in some cases even the high seas. To be clear, applying the national minimum wage, as provided for in the amendment, would breach this international agreement, so my noble friend rightly understood that there is a problem here. The Government have agreed to meet the RMT parliamentary group on 16 March. This meeting will allow the Government and the RMT to share their respective legal advice on this issue, and perhaps to reach a better mutual understanding. On this basis, I urge my noble friend to withdraw his amendment.