P&O Ferries defends ‘last resort’ decision to sack 800 staff on the spot

P&O Ferries has said the “difficult decision” to sack 800 staff on the spot was made as a “last resort” – and again insisted the business would not have survived otherwise.

In a new statement, the travel company said it “understood” the “distress” its decision will have caused and felt that “reaching agreement on the way forward” was “impossible”.

Speaking following fierce criticism – including from Downing Street – it said it had made “all efforts” to notify workers personally of their redundancy and had acted in “good faith”.

It continued: “Contrary to rumours, none of our people wore balaclavas nor were they directed to use handcuffs nor force.”

But Gary Jackson from the RMT union, who was on the Pride of Hull ferry when the news broke, told Sky News he had “photographic evidence of people in a minibus with balaclavas on, and you could see they had handcuffs on their belts as well”.

There was “not one member on the (ferry) that wanted to leave yesterday”, he said, adding that P&O Ferries had “played fast and loose” with its employees’ lives.

The RMT’s General Secretary is consulting with a QC to look at legal options, Mr Jackson said.

“All affected crew who were working yesterday were notified face-to-face and in-person on board their vessels,” it commented.

“For crew who were off, P&O Ferries made all efforts to notify them personally: they were individually called on the phone, as well as via email and text.”

It added, however: “We know that for our staff this redundancy came without warning or prior consultation, and we fully understand that this has caused distress for them and their families.

“We took this difficult decision as a last resort and only after full consideration of all other options but, ultimately, we concluded that the business wouldn’t survive without fundamentally changed crewing arrangements, which in turn would inevitably result in redundancies.

“We also took the view, in good faith, that reaching agreement on the way forward would be impossible and against this background, that the process itself would be highly disruptive, not just for the business but for UK trade and tourism.”

The ferry operator cancelled all its services for the next few days after dismissing the workers yesterday.

It said it had “offered enhanced severance terms to those affected to properly and promptly compensate them for the lack of warning and consultation”.

The “changes we’ve made bring us into line with standard industry practice”, is continued.

Number 10 has warned of “ramifications” after the staff were replaced with cheaper agency workers.

The government is looking “very closely at the actions this company has taken” to see whether it “acted within the rules”, the prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters.

He continued: “Once we have concluded that, we will decide what the ramifications are. Obviously there are a lot of valid questions in relation to existing contracts, etc.”

Once the details have been examined, ministers will “set out any further steps”, he added.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it’s “not too late” for the company to consult with workers.

If an employer needs to make redundancies, it is important to talk to people and “I want to see the P&O (Ferries) management do that even now”, he added.

Mr Shapps told Sky News: “It’s not too late for them to sit down with workers, sit down with the unions, and I’ll be putting pressure on all sides for them to do that.”

The Labour Party is urging the government to review “any and every contract and licence (it has) with P&O or (parent company) DP World”.

Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell said Labour was also calling for the removal of DP World from the government’s transport advisory group, the clawing back of government COVID support given to DP World, and the outlawing of fire and rehire.

In another development on Friday, it emerged that P&O Ferries’ actions may enable it to halve its crewing costs.

In a letter obtained by Mirror Online, chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite wrote: “The changes we’re making to our crewing model today (will) reduce our crewing costs by 50%.”

He added: “We have entered into a new partnership with International Ferry Management (IFM) who are an international crewing company, and they will be responsible for providing new crews for all those ships affected by this change.

“Our new teams of seafaring colleagues have already joined our ships.

“Our new crew are now going through a process of intense familiarisation and training programme on our ships, run by IFM.

“Only when that process has happened, will we gradually return to a normal service safely and securely – upholding our P&O standards and brand.”

‘Body blow for our community’

Natalie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, said the company had made a “compete U-turn”.

She told Sky News: “There was a substantial restructure in the last two years and I worked with the RMT and (other) unions to make sure there was a fresh arrangement which was to secure the longstanding position of workers here in Dover.

“So the action they have taken is a complete U-turn, a complete undermining of all the assurances that have been given.”

She added that P&O Ferries is at the “heart of this community and the way the workers have been treated is appalling”.

Three quarters of those affected are from Dover and it has been a “body blow for our community”, Ms Elphicke said.

She is urging P&O Ferries and DP World to reinstate the jobs and “consult with workers in the normal way”.

An ‘intensely worrying situation’

A union which represents some of the affected workers, Nautilus International, has called on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to “make sure the ships are safe” as the new crews are “unfamiliar” with the vessels and routes.

It is an “intensely worrying situation” because sailing vessels across the Channel is like “walking across a six-lane motorway at rush hour”, general secretary Mark Dickinson told the BBC.

“There are serious safety concerns. We’ve written to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and we hope and we pray that they will do their job.”

‘Kick in the teeth’

The RMT union described the move as an “appalling situation” and a “vicious example of despotic employer behaviour”.

The union’s general secretary, Mick Lynch, said it was a “kick in the teeth to the hard-working members of staff who have kept the business running through the global health crisis”.

He also claimed the union received reports of security guards at Dover boarding ships to remove crew members with handcuffs.

A ‘difficult but necessary’ decision

In a statement, P&O Ferries said: “We have made a £100 million loss year-on-year, which has been covered by our parent, DP World. This is not sustainable.”

The company insisted the decision to cut jobs was “very difficult but necessary” to plug its losses.

The move is believed to affect everyone – from captains and check-in staff, to those in engine rooms, to loaders and cleaners.

The company said those affected will be served with “enhanced” severance packages, calling the move “necessary” to protect its remaining 2,200 employees.

Peter Aylott, director of policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping, which represents the industry, said P&O Ferries had “no option but to do something”.

He told the BBC: “The company was valued effectively in 2019 at £350 million.

“It’s been losing £100 million a year through the pandemic, caused by an event that obviously they had no control of. Clearly something had to be done.

“I can’t possibly comment on the conduct of what was done, but I can comment on the fact that 2,200 people’s jobs have been saved, otherwise the company probably would have ended up, I imagine, in liquidation.”

Regarding safety, he said he was “very confident that P&O will have put procedures in place to ensure that the individuals that are going to be in control of those vessels will be familiar with the ships, familiar with the systems and will be competent and qualified to operate those vessels in a safe manner”.

Travellers urged to make alternative arrangements

Amid disruptions to its services, P&O Ferries tweeted this morning advising travellers to make alternative arrangements and that regular updates will be provided.

The company, which transports passengers and freight, operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland.