Letters to and from Peter Hebblethwaite, CEO of P&O Ferries, regarding the circumstances by which staff were made redundant on 17 March 2022.
UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Labour Markets Minister Paul Scully wrote to the CEO of P&O Ferries on 18 March 2022 requesting details of the circumstances by which staff were made redundant on 17 March so that government can establish whether any employment or redundancy laws have been broken.
This is the exchange of letters:
Peter Hebblethwaite, CEO of P&O Ferries, responded by letter yesterday:
RMT exposes the ‘bullying truth’ behind P&O staff package
Maritime Union RMT last night slammed what it described as a “disgusting statement” from P&O Ferries trying to justify one of the most shameful acts by any employer in recent history.
Sacked seafarers have been basically told that if they don’t sign up to be gagged by a non-disclosure agreements you not only lose your job you lose money as well. This is from an organisation which has received millions from the taxpayer to support furlough payments and whose parent company DP world paid out vast sums in dividends last year
General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “These are the actions of a bully trying to maximise profits by sacking workers and replacing them with agency staff below the minimum wage.
“The detail of what the company are imposing is not new. The 2.5 weeks is what we have negotiated in the past with P&O.
“The pay in lieu of notice is not compensation, it is just a payment staff are contractually entitled to as there was no notice given.
“The way that the package has been structured is pure blackmail and threats– that if staff do not sign up and give away their jobs and their legal right to take the company to an employment tribunal they will receive a fraction of the amount put to them.
“The actions of P&O demonstrate the weakness of employment law and protections in the UK. P&O have flagrantly breached the law and abandoned any standards of workplace decency. They have ripped away the jobs, careers and pensions of our members and thrown the on the dole with the threat that if they do not sign up and give away their rights they will lose many thousands of pounds in payments.
“This is totally unacceptable and RMT will continue to campaign for our members to be reinstated at P&O and for better employment laws to protect all British workers.”
A protest is also being held outside P&O Ferries Cairnryan terminal today.
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