General Chat

When I lived and worked in the Channel Ports area there were two main local employers.
The mines and the ferries.

The crews live aboard the ferries and I have read they have been unable to collect personal items before being thrown off. Dreadful.

It is awful isn't it? I don't know how they can get away with it. :-S

Just seen somebody has said 40% ownership is Russian Don't know if that is true.

I missed the local lunchtime news, but this general area and east of here is bound to be badly affected.

I don't personally know anyone who works for P & O, so was not aware of major problems, so today's news was quite a shock.

How can they dismiss staff without notice and without a reason? My bank I used to work for could not dismiss us without following certain procedures.

Poor workforce. Hope they take legal advice of some sort.

Hearts go out to them all. Shame on P and O :-P :-P

Florence in the hebrides

Apparently, the ferry company is owned by UAE-Dubai-based DP World.

It will be interesting to see who will fill crews’ places; certainly, as the company was said to be haemorrhaging money, if it changes hands I think crew numbers will be fewer.

However, I ask ‘Why now. Why when economies are beginning to get on their feet again and people are travelling once more and, quite obviously, ferries will be busier? Niggling away in the back of my mind is the possibility that UAE is not happy at our £400m payout to Iran, which is, of course, still bombing UAE - or rather backing the bombing.

But I have a suspicious mind!

I wonder what everyone else thinks?

Local roads towards Dover are going to be chaos :-|

According to the local MP Natalie Elphicke, they already are and it's nothing to do with brexit.

Gwyn, even the workforce had no idea it was going to happen. P&O say they would go under without drastic action. But, I agree with JoyLouise, all very suspicious with the timing.
I wonder who the coach loads of Agency workers are, surely they can't just have anyone, they have to be skilled to work the ferries so where have they found all these skilled people who are able to work in UK. and if they are skilled, wouldn't they be likely to belong to one union or another? So would they take work from people who were suddenly 'sacked' )redundant? but surely not as this was not done within redundancy law/procedures).

It is now being said that French crew members weren’t sacked and that ships officers were offered new contracts.

I am saying nuffink about French crew members as I’ve already posted why I think British crews were sacked but I do wonder whether new contracts offered to officers were offered after their sackings as it was reported that at least one captain stood firm on his vessel.

800 sacked is a good number and from what I’ve read they’ll reduce staff numbers but I’ve not seen any percentage of cuts mentioned. How ironic it would be if the company found that it had to re-hire sacked personnel as it could not find suitable replacements for all - and how costly too, as having received a lump sum payout some may be re-employed, albeit likely at a lower salary.

It’s a ‘rum do’, isn’t it!

P&O have broken at least 2 UK employment laws.

That’s what the union says, Pat, but I wouldn’t mind betting that the company will argue it’s case and cite UAE legislation. :-(

Edit: anyone looked up Maritime Law?

It is P&O Ferries that is the company. Apparently P&O Cruises is not related to them at all.

According to ITN they may not have broken employment law as the crew contracts are based in Jersey. One of the reason for using Jersey is that, apparently, they don’t need to pay NI.

P&O ferries have not been part of the cruise company for many years.

Very suspicious that it happens the day after Boris visited the UAE.

It does seem to be one of the Brexit Benefits - for P&O Ferries.