P&O Ferries - major announcement today. All ships in port

[cakeorwine]

Gosh. I wonder what's going on

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60779001

I disagree - come on, if you’re out of work and shit deep in poverty, you take your work where you can find it. Not everyone has the choice of principled labour

Except if you are 'foreign' and taking our jobs....cos that's why we voted for Brexit....

They usually do in terms of hourly rates. But don’t have to pay sick leave, holidays, pension, training etc - or redundancy… So it’s cheaper and more flexible. Of course it works both ways. You get what you pay for usually.

@Candleabra

Ah, that's helpful thank you

Johnson claimed that Brexit enabled the establishment of free ports such as those now making profits for DP World in the UK. That isn't entirely true, but Brexit did make the UK's free ports more effective.
DP World bought back P&O in 2019 to be a "smart trade enabler". Guess this is their latest smart move.

@SoupDragon

I can't see how they can sack all the U.K. workers.

Me neither. Fascinated to see what the rationale is.

@RussianSpy101

P&o cruises are a completely separate company owned these days by Carnival who also own Cunard, Seabourne and a few other brands

Whatever is going on here it’s not brexit related.

Making hundreds of staff redundant without a leak is doable but employing replacement staff and all the contacts and paperwork that that involves is something else. I'm surprised there has been no ethical board member willing to grass.

@Orchidsonthetable

Whatever is going on here it’s not brexit related.

If Johnson himself claimed that the free ports P&O's mother company was trying to buy were made possible by Brexit ... maybe there's something to it after all?

www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-03-17/p-and-o-ferries-suspends-all-sailings-ahead-of-major-announcement

Yep. Just as British Airways did, effectively

ukaviation.news/british-airways-sacks-thousands-of-staff-on-what-is-being-dubbed-black-friday/

And what happened to them? Nothing. They just carry on trading as though nothing actually happened. Doibtless P&O will find their own verion of BAs statement The airline says that around 6000 people have opted for voluntary redundancy which was corporate speak for people like my cousin, who had worked for them for 30 years, her only job, who had to choose between taking what was offered or fighting it and ending up with nothing. In her mid 50s she had little choice. Just as P&O staff will have bugger all choice, or anything to fall back on,

@Satsumaeater

I don't know how that is legally possible - we don't have great employment protection in the UK, but there is some. You can't just sack everyone and get away with it and it will cost a lot in redundancy/unfair dismissal payments. As for union busting, you can't be prevented from being in a union, even if it isn't officially recognised.

It's fire and rehire.

British Gas recently did it.

It's disgusting. B

@Orchidsonthetable

Whatever is going on here it’s not brexit related.

It's exactly what brexiters wanted for UK employers. Able to fire at whim. No protections for employees.

How does TUPE not apply here?
Firing staff to hire new staff to do the same jobs. It has to be illegal.

@Savoury

How does TUPE not apply here? Firing staff to hire new staff to do the same jobs. It has to be illegal.

I guess it's outsourced? The new staff won't be employed by P&O.

No requirement for TUPE.

BUT normally you would expect a proper period of consultation before that happened.

What

It's exactly what brexiters wanted for UK employers. Able to fire at whim. No protections for employees.

They are not under uk employment law. In this regard they are not a uk employer.

I feel so sorry for those employees.

Found these Twitter posts interesting

Anglian water also did this 20 years ago. Loads of staff directly employed by AW. Then AW said they weren’t employing such roles and it was all sub contracted out to various firms. So one day staff were wearing an AW uniform fixing leaks and the next they’re wearing a Clancy Docra uniform fixing the same leaks for less money and less pension, sick pay, etc.

Regarding TUPE, I have only experience of UK 'domestic' TUPE in which case TUPE might be expected to apply but having glanced across the media, there may be some uncertainty about the application of TUPE and a conflict with Maritime law, maritime employment provision and potentially concerning the international structure of the employer. Are some of the employees French? If so, I suspect the company might get itself into hotter water, even if there weren't an election coming up soon. They might find their ferries blockaded when they next dock in France and find their executives called in. Interestingly the Irish press are reporting their few Irish employees' jobs are 'safe'. i suppose one problem is if the company is making significant losses as the scope for action might be limited if it decides to liquidate even if tribunals find for the disadvantaged employees.

How absolutely disgusting.

It's exactly what brexiters wanted for UK employers. Able to fire at whim. No protections for employees.

Could we stop with that misinformation? It's nothing to do with Brexit or UK employment law. 2 years of Covid and having a non UK ownership will change a lot of things for many organisations.

Terrible way to treat your staff. No warning or anything.

Dubai-owned company with ships registered in the Bahamas and Cyprus sacks British and French workers" doesn't have the same populist "blame everything on Brexit" ring to it though

Quite so, but those unconcerned with the facts are unlikely to listen

The worst of it is, I doubt this'll be the last company to do the same after Covid

This is a disgrace.

@Orchidsonthetable

Whatever is going on here it’s not brexit related.

Besides the pandemic travel restrictions, do you not think there is a connection between Brexit and the demand for ferry travel?

P&O carry 15% of freight in and out of the UK. Our exports have plummeted so we will not be sending as many lorries out on ferries.

Far fewer people are interested in 'booze cruises' now that we no longer enjoy duty free wine etc from the Calais supermarkets. Thousands used to make those trips.

Interesting interview with the MP for Hull on radio 5 earlier. He said that there was a ferry in dock there and the workers were sitting in a refusing to leave. The agency staff who had been brought in to replace them were apparently from Eastern Europe.

He explained that they aren’t subject to UK legislation relating to employment rights. If we had still been part of the EU they would’ve had some protection, but to a much lesser standard than UK employment law. But he thought that the EU legislation hadn’t been bought across into our legislation and so they had none at all.

Feel so very sorry for the staff losing their jobs like this.