'Shameful Act': Government, Unions Slam P&O Ferries Over Sacking of 800 Staff Via Video

On Thursday, staff from P&O Ferries held protests and refused to disembark from their ships after an announcement about their sacking, later prompting the company to hire balaclava-clad private security officers to force them to leave.

UK government ministers and trade unions have condemned P&O Ferries sacking its 800 crew members without notice, amid questions about whether the move by one of Britain's leading ferry companies is a breach of employment laws.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed out that "the way these workers were informed was completely unacceptable". The spokesperson added that "clearly the way that this was communicated to staff was not right and we have made that clear", referring to P&O's owners announcing the sacking via a Zoom video call.

They were echoed by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport Robert Courts, who said he was "extremely concerned and frankly angry at the treatment" of P&O crew.

"Reports of workers being given zero notice and being escorted off their ships while being told that cheaper alternatives will take up their roles shows the insensitive way P&O have approached this issue", Courts added.

At the same time, he stopped short of dubbing the move by the Dubai-based company illegal or promising any action against the sacking, saying that "their finances are a matter for them alone".

Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, for her part, likened P&O Ferries' dismissals, including the use of "handcuffed-trained security, some wearing balaclavas, marching British crew off their ships" to "the actions of thugs".

The stance was shared by Tory MPs, with Transport Select Committee Chair Huw Merriman urging the government "to do everything it can – including tabling emergency legislation if needed – to ensure that this appalling employment transaction cannot be completed".

Conservative lawmaker Natalie Elphicke, called on ministers to discuss "what more could be done to hold [multinational logistics company] DP World and P&O Ferries to account for their disgraceful behaviour".

The same tone was struck by British and European trade unions as RMT's General Secretary Mick Lynch said the organisation was seeking urgent legal action over "one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations".

The maritime union Nautilus International described P&O Ferries' move as "a betrayal of British workers", while Livia Spera, the head of the European seafarers' union ETF, claimed it was "astonishing that this can happen in a major developed country like the UK".

The remarks come after 800 P&O staff received a video message from the company's owners on Thursday that "[P&O] vessels will be primarily crewed by a third-party crew provider" and that the staffers "final day of employment is today".

P&O Ferries explained that they had made the decision purportedly in order to tackle a £100 million year on year black hole in the company's finances.

"This is not sustainable. Our survival is dependent on making swift and significant changes now. Without these changes, there is no future for P&O Ferries", the firm argued.

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