Workers occupied a P&O ferry on the west coast of Scotland last night after the company sacked 800 staff using a recorded video message.
P&O Ferries suspended sailings as it announced plans to replace employees with agency workers, prompting widespread condemnation.
The transport operator kept its vessels in port yesterday morning, affecting passengers using the route from Cairnryan to Larne. P&O is said to have told politicians that it expects disruption to last for seven to ten days while it finds alternative staff. It advised customers to explore other options and to only make essential journeys. The rival Stena Line service, which runs from Cairnryan to Belfast, has seen a significant rise in demand as a result.
The RMT and Nautilus unions had advised their members to remain on their vessels yesterday with gangplanks being lifted in some locations to deny access to anyone from the shore.
Nautilus said workers on the European Highlander ferry at Cairnryan had faced verbal abuse and were being encouraged to leave the vessel but were staying on board.
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In Hull the 141-strong crew of the Pride of Hull secured themselves inside their vessel, but the standoff appeared to end last night after the crew were given assurances about enhanced redundancy terms. Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Hull East, said the captain was operating under maritime law to prevent anyone coming aboard at the city’s King George Dock.
In Dover tensions reached boiling point when P&O staff blocking a road near the port clashed with angry lorry drivers caught in the resulting traffic jam. Dozens of employees who lost their jobs stood on the road with banners and flags saying “stop the P&O jobs carve-up”. A lorry driver trying to enter the port began shouting and beeping at those in the road, before being told “we’re not moving”.
Motorists on both sides of the Channel have reported backlogs of vehicles waiting for ferries, with disruption expected to last more than a week. A driver in Calais said: “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.”
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said that she was “deeply concerned” about the workers and the potential impact on Cairnryan to Larne route. “Fire and rehire is an appalling practice and offends the basic principles of fair work,” she said on Twitter. Later she said she had spoken to the chief executive of P&O Ferries, Peter Hebblethwaite, and had made clear her “utter disgust” at the workers’ treatment.
Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary and MP for Dumfries & Galloway, which includes the Cairnryan port, described the situation as “very concerning” and said he had written to the company asking for clarity about the jobs and ferry link.
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Colin Smyth, a Labour MSP for South Scotland, said the company was “treating loyal staff with contempt”. He added: “It’s short-sighted to believe you can compete on the backs of driving down workers’ pay and conditions.”
Ross Greer, a Green MSP, condemned the action and urged administrations at Westminster and Holyrood to talk to the company and unions.
P&O Ferries said it had made a £100 million loss and was not a viable business without the drastic action. The company is owned by DP World, a Dubai-based logistics group.
The Cairnryan to Larne route across the Irish Sea is a key corridor for goods and people between Scotland and Northern Ireland. It would typically run seven crossings each day, taking two hours to make the trip. Before the pandemic the crossing was used by hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year.
Roz Foyer, general secretary of STUC, described the sackings as a “damning, outrageous move from P&O”. She said: “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.”
