Passengers and staff left adrift
P&O Ferries, the ferry operator with operations in Hull has said its services will not operate for the “next few days” after firing 800 seafaring staff.
The news comes after the company was forced to deny it was going into liquidation after asking all ships to remain in port ahead of a company announcement.
The decision is part of a series of “swift and significant changes” that are needed in order to ensure the business which is backed by Dubai-based DP World, which acquired the company in 2019 for £322m, survives.
A statement said: “In making this tough decision, we are securing the future viability of our business which employs an additional 2,200 people and supports billions in trade in and out of the UK.
“And we are ensuring that we can continue serving our customers in a way that they have demanded from us for many years.
“In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a £100m loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent DP World. This is not sustainable. Without these changes there is no future for P&O Ferries.”
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said of the situation: “We have instructed our members to remain onboard and are demanding our members across P&O’s UK operations are protected and that the Secretary of State intervenes to save UK seafarers from the dole queue.”
Robert Courts, parliamentary under secretary for transport, described P&O’s actions as insensitive and noted he’d been informed by the company that it would be suspending services for “a week to 10 days while the locate new crew”.
The news comes after East Hull MP, Karl Turner had tweeted earlier in the day stating that he understands current sailing staff, both officers and rating were to be “sacked”.
Which was corroborated by a statement from trade union Nautilus International who said:
“The news that P&O Ferries is sacking the crew across its entire UK fleet is a betrayal of British workers”
The statement noted that no consultation or notice had been given.
P&O Ferries which axed its Hull-Zeebrugge in Belgium in early 2021, had previously warned that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business ‘viable and sustainable’.
Following the news of the masse sacking, the RMT Union said it was seeking urgent legal action against the company to top what it described as “one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations”, after reporting that security guards with handcuffs had boarded ships to remove crew members. In Hull the crew of the Pride of Hull left the ship after occupying it for over five hours, however protests are expected to resume on Friday.
