Three P&O Ferries, Spirit of Britain, Pride of Canterbury and Pride of Kent moor up in the cruise terminal at the Port of Dover in Kent as the company has suspended sailings ahead of a “major announcement” but insisted it is “not going into liquidation.”
Gareth Fuller | PA Images | Getty Images
The boss of British ferry operator P&O Ferries has admitted the company broke the law by laying off 800 staff without consulting workers’ unions.
CEO Peter Hebblethwaite told lawmakers on Thursday that there was “absolutely no doubt” that, under U.K. employment law, the company was required to speak to unions before making mass redundancies.
“I completely throw our hands up, my hands up, that we did choose not to consult,” Hebblethwaite said, before adding that laid-off employees would be compensated “in full.”
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) called for the government to issue an immediate injunction to prevent P&O ships from sailing and ensure the reinstatement of laid-off workers.
P&O Ferries attracted public and parliamentary outrage last week after firing 800 workers via video message and replacing them with low-wage agency staff reportedly earning under 2 ($2.63) an hour — less than a quarter of the national minimum wage.
Footage quickly emerged of crew being marched off of boats by balaclava-clad security while replacement staff waited in vans at ports, in what lawmakers dubbed a “national scandal.”
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