P&O Ferries suspends sailings ahead of `major…
P&O sacks EVERY crew member with immediate effect and sends in agency staff to sail ships – but unions tell 800 workers to REFUSE to leave and ‘stage sit in’ amid pay row – as baffled passengers are kicked off at ports
Existing staff can apply to the agency for work, in a move branded ‘outrageous’ by furious union leadersTransport Secretary Grant Shapps said his officials were in urgent talks with P&0 Ferries over the situation Firm operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan to LarneOwned by DP World – Dubai-based company which reported a £683m profit last year and soaring revenues
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P&O Ferries today made all its 800 crew redundant with immediate effect and replaced them with cheap agency staff – but union leaders told workers to refuse to leave their ships and stage a ‘sit in’ amid a huge row over pay.
Agency workers are already waiting at docksides ready to board the ferries, but P&O faces a battle to persuade its existing employees to disembark due to widespread fury at its ‘treacherous’ decision.
The RMT said: ‘We have instructed our members to remain onboard and are demanding our members across P&O’s UK operations are protected and the Secretary of State intervenes to save seafarers from the dole queue.’
Labour MP Karl Turner posted a photograph of a coach which he stated contained ‘new foreign crew waiting to board the Pride of Hull’ at King George Dock, Hull.
Members of the RMT union are ‘sitting onboard the vessel’, so the new crew ‘will not be boarding her’, he wrote, adding: ‘We understand that both current officers and ratings are to be sacked.’
P&O Ferries – which said existing workers can apply to the agency for work – preceded its announcement by dramatically ordering all its ships back to port and kicking off bemused passengers with little warning.
The unexpected news has caused chaos for tourists and freight businesses, with huge lines of queuing lorries seen today at Dover and Calais.
P&O has nearly 4,000 workers and in May 2020 warned it could sack 1,100 of them due to Covid. It received £33m of emergency funding to carry on sailing, but has continued to struggle financially.
Today, the firm said customers with existing bookings should still show up and they will be provided with alternative transportation.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the House of Commons he was ‘concerned’ by the situation and had contacted P&O for urgent talks.
Three P&O ferries, Spirit of Britain, Pride of Canterbury and Pride of Kent moor up in the cruise terminal at the Port of Dover in Kent after the company suspended sailings
The unexpected news has caused chaos for tourists and freight businesses, with huge crews of lorries seen queuing at Dover
A P&O ferry docked at Dover today, with staff appearing to still be on board (left); and a team in high-vis jackets waiting on the dockside
Labour MP Karl Turner tweeted a photo of agency workers waiting to board the Pride of Hull Ferry at the city’s King George Dock. He wrote: ‘New foreign crew waiting to board… RMT sitting in onboard the vessel – they will not be boarding her,’ he wrote, adding: ‘We understand that both current officers and ratings are to be sacked’
Today confused customers took to Twitter to reveal the chaos they are facing after P&O’s unexpected announcement today. One Northern Ireland councillor (top left) was unable to travel to a funeral because of the sudden disruption
P&O Ferries is owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World. The CEO of DP World is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem – whose firm reported a $896million (£683) profit last year and soaring revenues.
P&O operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.
Sailings between Hull and Zeebrugge, Belgium, were axed in January 2021.
The firm carried 10million passengers a year before the pandemic and about 15% of all freight cargo in and out of the UK.
But like many transport companies has been struggling with the legacy of Covid. It warned in May 2020 that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business ‘viable and sustainable’.
P&O customers were left blindsided by the sudden suspension of services, with Robert Colvin – a Unionist councillor from Northern Ireland – left struggling to get to a family funeral in Scotland.
Meanwhile, one driver in Calais due to return to the UK said he had been waiting for a ferry since 6am.
‘More than anything I’m frustrated at the fact nobody from P&O was there to help and advise … I’ve never had such shoddy service from anybody.’
P&O made the unusual announcement in a Twitter post. It said passengers would be passed to a different operator
The driver, who wished to remain nameless, said he had been able to rebook with DFDS, saying: ‘I’ve had to exit the port and go through the entire process again, not to mention paying for another ticket at a higher price with them.
‘I’m getting very frustrated, which is understandable in my situation, I’ve no idea what’s going on. Usually I’d be let onto a DFDS boat, all of a sudden I’m not longer allowed on.
‘I would have appreciated somebody at least telling us what to do’, he added.
MPs and union leaders today lined up to hammer P&O bosses for their ‘fire and new hire’ tactics today.
Shadow Business minister Bill Esterson said: ‘P&O sacking their entire workforce and replacing them with agency staff is an appalling abuse of people. Fire and rehire is a disgraceful practice. This is even worse. It’s fire and new hire.’
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: ‘This is a damning, outrageous move from P&O and we offer our full support to the RMT union and all their members.
‘We cannot – and will not – permit hundreds of workers to be sacked on the spot to be replaced by cheaper labour whilst P&O scramble to remain viable.
‘We need to see an urgent statement from both the UK Government and the Scottish Government on how they intend to halt this scandalous misuse of employer power.’
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, is owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World. Pictured: Ferries at the Port of Dover today
P&O operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland
A map showing P&O ferries the Spirit of Britain, Pride of Canterbury and Pride of Kent (left, in purple) moored up at Dover today
A P&O boat sits in the dock in the Port of Liverpool as the company prepared to replace its existing crews with agency workers – although they have the option of also signing up with the agency
Wages have been struggling to keep pace with soaring inflation over recent months
City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy called the company’s behaviour ‘absolutely despicable’.
Meanwhile, business leaders warned the decision was another blow to UK exporters and the travel industry following the ravages of Covid.
Anton Gunter, managing director of Telford-based Global Freight Services, said: ‘The decision by P&O Ferries to cancel all its services will cause major delays for businesses and the impact will be felt very swiftly.
‘As one of the largest carriers of freight and passengers between the UK and Europe, it’s another major blow for businesses who were just getting back on track after the knock-on-effects from Covid and Brexit.
‘Our advice to all businesses affected by the service cancellations would be to communicate with their customers as soon as possible to explain the situation and do their best to manage expectations around the delays.
‘Of course, this is also a worrying time for all staff employed by the ferry operator and we hope that any further announcements made by the company have their best interests at heart.’
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps addressed the situation in the Commons this morning, telling MPs: ‘I understand they have temporarily paused their operations and that’s causing disruption at the short straits – Calais-Dover – as well as some other ports.
‘I’m working with the Kent Resilience Forum and I’ve just instructed them to become intricately involved, and other partners in this, and we’ll be taking steps later today – including ensuring that my officials will be having urgent discussions with P&O about the situation, particularly of concern for their workers.’
Earlier today, the ferry operator said it was on the cusp of ‘making a major announcement today’ which will ‘secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries’.
The statement added: ‘To facilitate this announcement all our vessels have been asked to discharge their passengers and cargo and stand by for further instructions. This means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today.’
P&O is the UK’s leading ferry firm, transporting both passengers and freight. Pictured is a queue of lorries outside Dover today
A queue of lorries outside Dover this morning. P&O operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland
Following the coronavirus outbreak, P&O Ferries warned in May 2020 that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business ‘viable and sustainable’.
A spokesman for the company said: ‘P&O Ferries is not going into liquidation.
‘We have asked all ships to come alongside, in preparation for a company announcement.
‘Until then, services from P&O will not be running and we are advising travellers of alternative arrangements.’
The company that would become P&O was founded in 1837 after signing a government contract to transport post by boat between London and the Iberian Peninsula.
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, is owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World
