[AMcWhirter]

All services were suspended earlier. There are no sailings at all right now.

Just now The Times’ Ben Clatworthy has tweeted that all staff are to be made redundant. They are to be replaced by agency staff.

BREAKING: All staff at P&O Ferries made redundant with immediate effect, with company to use agency staff to sail their ships#travel #breaking #ttot #ferries

— Ben Clatworthy (@benclatworthy) March 17, 2022

[AMcWhirter]

Update

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10622893/P-O-Ferries-suspends-sailings-ahead-major-announcement.html

[AMcWhirter]

Karl Turner MP for Hull East has tweeted.

New foreign crew waiting to board the Pride of Hull on King George Dock. ⁦@RMTunion⁩ sitting in onboard the vessel. They will not be boarding her. We understands that both current officers and ratings are to be sacked. pic.twitter.com/JqJOWNxgDA

— Karl Turner MP (@KarlTurnerMP) March 17, 2022

[K1ngston]

Go onto SkyNews and hear how the CEO fired his staff! Heartless Ba****d!…….

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DavidSmith2, BPP, MartynSinclair, Frederic

[TominScotland]

Absolutely scandalous treatment of their crews by P&O. So the Government condemn them but will they act? Such labour relations may be the norm with migrant workers in the Middle East (where P&O’s owners are located) but surely not even in post-Brexit UK?

But the competition, Stena, have been quick to cash in. Even before this announcement, I was looking to book a ferry crossing on the already horrendously expensive Cairnryan – NI route where P&O are normally about 10% cheaper than Stena. That was the case when I looked but when I went to book (given the uncertainty) with Stena last night, their fares has gone up by a further 12-15%. That said, I did book and will continue to use Stena unless P&O come to their senses.

3 users thanked author for this post.

FormerBA, DavidSmith2, PatJordan

[cwoodward]

The cause of this is very probably due to gross overmanning, union negotiated astronomical wage awards and refusal by the unionised workforce and the union to bend or assist when the company was clearly in trouble due to the virus. Now of course they blame the employer for taking the forced yet necessary steps to save the company and the shareholder funds. So typical.
Remind anyone of the London underground ?

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PeterCoultas

[AMcWhirter]

Many media reports yesterday stated that the new crew were being offered wages of £2 to £3 an hour.

What I did not realise at the time was that something similar happened at Irish Ferries many years ago.

I am not aware of the current situation with Irish Ferries but last year we reported this firm had entered the Dover-Calais market (to compete with P&O and DFDS).

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/dec/01/g2?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[TominScotland]

And Ministers apparently knew of P&O plans in advance, despite their apparent ‘shock-horror’ reaction…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/whitehall-grant-shapps-p-o-ferries-dp-world-government-b2039799.html

cwoodward, absolutely no comment……

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Frederic

[cwoodward]

I am lead to believe that the unionised workers were being paid pounds 26.00 an hour rising to 38 pounds. This for largely unskilled workers = clearly not affordable
It seems that the replacement workers are on around pounds 6.40 an hour plus benefits(?) not the 1.60 that is being banded around in the tabloid press.
Fortunately there is still a free labour market and now several hundred jobless very poor workers now have jobs and the company and the hundreds of other workers that it undoubtedly supports by its existence can hopefully survive.
If there is any fault to be apportioned here surly that lies at the door of the union for pricing the workers out of affordability.

[TominScotland]

And £6.40 is way below the national minimum wage let along the living wage. At a time when prices are sky-rocketing. That, in itself, is a disgrace. If that is the free market…….

1 user thanked author for this post.

Frederic

[AMcWhirter]

Surely the wage rates at P & O for regular workers would not be as high as £26 to £38 an hour.

I am not sure of the current crewing arrangements at Irish Ferries but as I noted above this firm entered the Dover-Calais route in 2020 and must be a fierce competitor on price to P & O.

Unfortunately foot passengers on the route will be losing out.

As we reported last September P & O was the only one to take foot passengers on Dover-Calais.

It’s important for those who live near the Channel coast because Eurostar is not calling at any of its two Kent stations until 2023.

P&O Ferries accepting foot passengers again

[cwoodward]

Tom in Scotland – I respect your views although they differ from my own however I must make the point that UK national minimum wage levels are not in play here as the crew in question are not UK residents and pounds 6.40 per hour is a fantastic wage for an out of work Philopena or Bangladeshi seaman.

Alex the income figures that I quoted for the UK workers were from reliable industry sources including P and O and the hourly rate I mentioned for the new crew were from normally reliable internet sources. I am confident that they are correct for the UK workers as many sources for that information.

If they are indeed correct than perhaps you would agree that these wage levels in current conditions were unsustainable as was the companies situation which is perhaps why the government made no formal protest. Had P and O ferries closed many more workers both directly and indirectly employed would have also lost their jobs and of course the general public would have lost a much needed ferry service.

2 users thanked author for this post.

AMcWhirter, esselle

[SimonS1]

Government website suggests minimum wage applies to seafarers, too.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/minimum-wage-seafarers-and-other-people-working-at-sea

[cwoodward]

SimonS1
I have considerable doubt that a UK government web site is in play here as nether the ‘seafarers’ or the company in question are British.

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=1206929]

It says it applies to any seafarers working in British territorial waters regardless of nationality or registration of the vessel.

Otherwise all ferry companies would have long since fired all staff and replaced with cheaper nationalities.

Anyhow it is under review, we will find out soon whether P&O have made a catastrophic error resulting in criminal prosecution (as Shapps announced in the HoC yesterday).

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Frederic, DerekVH

[Author]

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