Emma Sara Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A week after 800 P&O Ferries workers lost their jobs without notice, the CEO of the company is now facing calls to lose his. Peter Hebblethwaite is under pressure from the UK government to resign after he admitted the company had broken the law.
Facing questions over the video call sacking of his employees, Hebblethwaite said P&O had decided not to engage with trade unions in advance of the move, in breach of UK employment law. He told a parliamentary hearing: “There’s absolutely no doubt we were required to consult with the unions. We chose not to do that.”
He added: “It was our assessment that […] no union could accept our proposals.”
The hearing looked uncomfortable for the CEO, who said he was trying to save the business and would make the same decision again. MPs did not hold back, with the the business committee chair, Darren Jones, asking him: “Are you in this mess because you don’t know what you’re doing, or are you just a shameless criminal?”
Another MP described recent events as a “tale of corporate thuggery where a huge company thinks it can break the law with impunity”.
For its part, P&O claims the company could not continue without the mass redundancies and says workers are receiving generous settlement packages – at least...
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