UK Officers union Nautilus International has accused Carnival UK of threatening more than 900 crew with being fired and rehired if they do not lower pay.
The union said the cruise company notified authorities in the UK and Bermuda of its intention to change employment terms and conditions for 919 crew across 10 vessels.
“The company proposals could lead to some losing up to 20% of their annual take-home pay as part of plans to cut working rotations,” Nautilus said.
Crew affected primarily work on vessels linked to iconic British brands P&O Cruises and Cunard.
“Under UK law, employers are required to notify the Secretary of State of planned redundancies over the amount of 20 at least 30/45 days in advance,” Nautilus said.
“They are further required to enter into ‘meaningful consultation’ with recognised trade unions in changes to contractual terms and consultations.”
The statutory notification was reportedly sent to the UK insolvency service by Fleet Management Services (Carnival UK) on 15 November, and the union claims it was only notified on the evening of 22 November.
Nautilus said the move suggested that the employer “never had any intention of meaningful negotiation”.
Nautilus International senior national organiser Garry Elliot said: “We continue to urge Carnival UK to withdraw their threat of fire and rehire and engage in meaningful negotiations.
“We also call on the UK government to learn the lessons from P&O Ferries and outlaw the coercive practice of fire and rehire.
“Employers cannot be allowed to treat their employees with contempt and force through fundamental changes to terms and conditions by playing with their employees’ livelihoods.”
Carnival UK told the BBC it was “categorically not making any redundancies, and we will not dismiss and re-engage staff. We have significantly increased our headcount across our fleet”.
It added: “This is an annual pay review process with our maritime officers on board our ships, which will ensure alignment. This will empower our staff, deliver the right teams across our fleet and attract and retain talent to work on our ships.”
Louise Haigh, the UK’s shadow transport secretary, said on X: “It has been almost two years since P&O Ferries illegally sacked 800 workers and replaced them with agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.
“Now the lives of hundreds more seafarers are once again being upended by bad bosses who know they can get away with it.”
“Ministers have sat on their hands and ignored warning after warning that this would happen again unless they stepped in to change the law. The blame lies with them.
“Labour will end this cycle and outlaw fire and rehire practices for good.”
The full list of ships with impacted employees is said to include the 84,342-gt Arcadia (built 2005), the 185,581-gt Arvia (built 2022), the 76,152-gt Aurora (built 2000), the 115,055-gt Azura (built 2010), the 143,730-gt Britannia (built 2015), the 184,089-gt Iona (built 2020) and the 116,000-gt Ventura (built 2008).
The Cunard ships affected comprise the 90,901-gt Queen Elizabeth (built 2010), the 149,215-gt Queen Mary 2 (built 2003) and the 90,746-gt Queen Victoria (built 2007).
