The boss of P&O Ferries has said he will not resign or rehire dismissed crew, despite two of the company’s vessels being impounded over safety concerns.
Peter Hebblethwaite, the chief executive, said that the company would not reinstate the 800 workers it sacked, many of whom had more than 20 years’ experience at sea.
Responding to a letter from Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, Hebblethwaite said that re-employing them would “deliberately cause the company’s collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs. I cannot imagine that you would wish to compel an employer to bring about its own downfall, affecting not hundreds but thousands of families.”
The ferry operator sacked its entire British crew on March 17, aiming to replace them with cheaper agency workers for £5.50 an hour on average.
At the net zero, energy and transport committee at Holyrood yesterday, Hebblethwaite reiterated the reasons why the operator did not consult over the sackings. He said the plan was “so radical that no union could possibly accept and any consultation would have been a sham”.
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Shapps wrote to Hebblethwaite on Monday offering him “one further opportunity” to rehire the workers and saying he intended to “block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued”. However, sources told The Times that any hope the government had of reversing the decision is “fast diminishing”.
Shapps has pledged to bring a “comprehensive package of measures” to parliament to ensure that crew on ferries operating from British ports are paid the minimum wage. This will rise from £8.91 an hour to £9.50 on April 1.
He said: “Given that we intend to ensure such outcomes are prevented by laws — which we will ensure that you cannot simply choose to ignore — I believe you will be left with little choice but to reverse your decision.”
P&O said it welcomed the commitment to increase the minimum wage, adding: “We have never sought to undermine minimum-wage regulations. Indeed, from the outset, P&O Ferries has called for a level playing field regarding salaries on British ferry routes.”
Plans for the company to restart sailings hit another snag as it was confirmed that the Pride of Kent had been detained in Dover. Inspectors found “serious deficiencies”, including with safety equipment. P&O was told to inform the Maritime and Coastguard Agency when the vessel was ready for reinspection. Sources told The Times that, as of last night, the company had not asked the agency to inspect any further vessels. Eight ships need approval to sail again, with authorisation granted as yet only to the Pride of Hull.
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Hebblethwaite rejected Shapps’s request that tomorrow’s deadline for redundant crew to accept severance offers be delayed, as more than 765 of the 786 affected workers had “taken steps to accept”. More than 500 crew are said to have signed settlements, including 67 officers who have either accepted the offer to work with the new crew provider or are doing so.
The prime minister and Shapps have called on Hebblethwaite to resign, a move he has also rejected. He wrote: “I am compelled to discharge my duties for this historical company . . . I will therefore continue to do my utmost to ensure that this company has a sustainable business for the future.”
