P&O Ferries continues to attract condemnation for its abrupt and brutal sacking yesterday of 800 seafarers.
Transport minister Robert Courts described the decision to jettison workers and replace them with contract staff as “insensitive” although he stopped short of calling it illegal.
However, a spokesperson for prime minister Boris Johnson said the government is already looking “very closely” at the actions to see whether P&O Ferries followed the rules.
BREAKING: The MPs who voted against banning fire and rehire would like you to know they are outraged that P & O has fired and rehired x
— Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@BBCLauraKT) March 18, 2022
Some legal professionals have suggested that the company could face numerous claims for unfair dismissal given it gave no notice of the redundancies.
Two unions representing crew members, Nautilus International and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, are preparing legal action against the company.
“This is clearly illegal,” Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said. “It’s a dark day in the shipping industry,” the Associated Press reported.
The news agency added that unions are set to protest at the abrupt sackings at Dover, Hull and Liverpool ports today.
Unions are set to protest at British ports after P&O Ferries fired 800 U.K. crew members to replace them with cheaper contract staff. The British government has expressed outrage at the mass firings, but says it can do little to reverse them. https://t.co/ox2xv5YbrC
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) March 18, 2022
Dickinson said yesterday’s events, which included security agents wearing balaclavas removing workers from ships they were servig on, was “a new low for a shipping company”.
“This is a moment in history that people won’t forget and I hope the directors of P&O and DP World never forget this day,” Dickinson said.
P&O Ferries have just made over 800 employees including myself and my Brother redundant and did it with a teams video call. We have protested today outside our RMT office and will be at the port of Dover doing it again. Show us some support. #savelocaljobs #rmt
— Bruce Morton (Thing/It/don't care about gender) (@BruceMo21861201) March 17, 2022
DP World, the Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries, said the decision to switch from company employees to cheaper contract staff was necessary to secure the future viability of the company.
P&O statement confirming what was in videos sent to us about the immediate firings “without these changes there is no future for p&o ferries”… follow @KatyAustinNews for more… pic.twitter.com/lpS8vqcL8h
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) March 17, 2022
'The Dubai company that owns P&O made £1 billion profit - at the same time they're making 800 workers redundant. It's an absolute scandal, it's an outrage and it cannot be allowed to stand'
Labour's Jim McMahon condemns P&O Ferries owners DP World https://t.co/LMkNGe2WHB pic.twitter.com/zGIB1bmh6t
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) March 18, 2022
This view received support from Peter Aylott, the director of policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping, which represents shipping companies.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Aylott said the company had “no option but to do something” and suggested that 2,200 jobs – the size of P&O Ferries’ workforce following the redundancies - might have been saved as a result of the move.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey chipped in with his two penn’orth, saying that P&O Ferries ought to return the £10mln in furlough cash it had received from the government.
P & O Ferries is an EU registered business in Cyprus Karl - The crews are all foreign (African and E European) Why do you think Hull voted for BREXIT? UK crews were sacked and replaced by cheaper EU crews 20 years ago - not sure what this story has to do with UK? @KarlTurnerMP
— Mayor of West Yorks (@Colin00007) March 17, 2022