P&O Ferries protesters take to ports across UK to rally against ‘jobs massacre’
Protests are taking place at UK ports over the sacking of hundreds of seafarers, as calls grow for the boss of P&O Ferries to quit.
Demonstrators gathered at docks in Liverpool, Dover and Hull as the RMT union urged a stop to the ‘P&O Jobs Massacre’.
People chanted ‘P&O, shame on you’ as they marched along a street in Liverpool, with more than 100 turning out, according to the union.
In Dover there were similar scenes as crowds carried banners and placards calling for an end to the ‘P&O jobs carve up’.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) tweeted a video they said showed P&O dockers in Rotterdam refusing to load freight onto a ferry set for Hull ‘in solidarity with the 800 seafarers illegally sacked by P&O’.
Meanwhile, Irish trade union workers gathered at Dublin Port outside the P&O terminal to send support from across the Irish Sea to P&O staff.
The potests come hours after a ship operated by the ferry firm was detained in Northern Ireland for being ‘unfit to sail’.
The European Causeway vessel has been held at Larne due to ‘failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training’, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.
In a move that sparked widespread outrage, the company sacked almost 800 seafarers earlier this month, and plans to replace them with agency staff on cheaper salaries.
After the European Causeway was detained, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he will not compromise the safety of P&O vessels and insisted that the company will not be able to rush training for inexperienced people.
An MCA spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that the European Causeway has been detained in Larne.
‘It has been detained due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training.
‘The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved by P&O Ferries. Only then will it be reinspected.’
The MCA said there were no passengers or freight on board the European Causeway vessel when it was detained.
The detention of ships is based on concerns over their safety and to prevent them going to sea.
A P&O Ferries spokesman said: ‘European Causeway has undergone an inspection by the MCA in Larne, during which it was deemed not sufficiently ready for entry into operation.
‘We shall review the findings, make any changes required and continue to work closely with the MCA to return the ship to service.’
Labour has written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng asking whether the Government will seek the removal of P&O Ferries’ chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite as a director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
In a letter, the party accused the Government of ‘sitting on their hands’ rather than taking action to hold P&O to account, adding that the ‘toothless response risks giving the green light to exploitation’.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the ‘shameful misconduct of P&O Ferries has ruined livelihoods’ as she called for the sacked workers to be reinstated and for Mr Hebblethwaite to be ‘barred’ as a director for his role in the crisis.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed Mr Shapps’ call for Mr Hebblethwaite to quit.
In Larne, the local mayor of the Mid and East Antrim Council, William McCaughey, said they would support the reinstatement of the staff immediately.
‘It is ridiculous what P&O has done to the staff, we in Larne would be very keen to see staff reinstated, it is the least that P&O could do,’ he said.
Alliance East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson welcomed the impounding of the ferry as a safety measure.
‘It’s not like the crew of an airplane getting off one easyJet and getting on to the next one where the controls are the exactly the same, and everything is in the same place,’ he said.
‘No two ships are the same, and you cannot just fly a crew in and expect them to be able to sail a ship.
‘Every control will be in a different place, but particularly all those health and safety drills that have to be gone through, everything from lifeboat stations to how each item of equipment operates.
‘It seemed to me it was going to be very difficult for staff to be able to take on that role in such a short period of time.
‘I am absolutely delighted they have (impounded the ship). This isn’t vengeance against P&O, it’s about passenger safety and the safety of the crew as well.’
The RMT union said it welcomed the detention of the European Causeway and it demanded the Government ‘seize the entire fleet’ of P&O vessels.
P&O Ferries: Protests in Dover,
Liverpool and Hull over staff
sackings as ship remains grounded
As demonstrators marched, P&O ship European
Causeway remained detained in Larne, County
Antrim, for being "unfit to sail".
Saturday 26 March 2022 UK
Hundreds of people have demonstrated against P&O Ferries' sacking of 800 staff at ports across the UK, with some chanting: "P&O, shame on you."
Protesters carrying banners and placards gathered in Dover, Liverpool, and Hull as part of what they called the "fight for justice" for the seafarers dismissed without notice earlier this month.
The demonstrations took place as the European Causeway, a ship operated by the company, remained detained in Larne, County Antrim, for being "unfit to sail".
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) promised more protests.
General secretary Mick Lynch said: "All the protests today were well attended with hundreds turning out in Liverpool, Hull, and Dover to support the P&O workers in their fight for justice."
He said the demonstrations "show that the public is on our side regarding the P&O sackings".
Ministers, he added, "need to bring in emergency legislation and prevent P&O from sailing with under trained, super exploited, agency crews".
Read more: P&O boss admits firm broke employment law
Two more P&O ships face checks next week, Sky News understands.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the European Causeway "has been detained due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training.
"The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved by P&O Ferries. Only then will it be reinspected."
The MCA said there were no passengers or freight on board the European Causeway vessel when it was detained.
The detention of ships is based on concerns over their safety and to prevent them going to sea.
A P&O Ferries spokesman said: "European Causeway has undergone an inspection by the MCA in Larne, during which it was deemed not sufficiently ready for entry into operation.
"We shall review the findings, make any changes required and continue to work closely with the MCA to return the ship to service."
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) tweeted a video they said showed P&O dockers in Rotterdam refusing to load freight on to a ferry set for Hull "in solidarity with the 800 seafarers illegally sacked by P&O".
Trade union workers gathered at Dublin Port outside the P&O terminal to send support from across the Irish Sea to P&O staff.
Meanwhile, Labour has written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng asking whether the government will seek the removal of P&O Ferries' chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite as a director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
