Grant Shapps urges P&O Ferries to U-turn on sacking of 800 workers
Grant Shapps is writing to the chief executive of P&O Ferries urging him to announce a U-turn on the decision to sack 800 workers without notice, as unions pledged to “ratchet up the fight” after a weekend of protests.
The transport secretary is expected to present a package of legislation on Wednesday to close existing loopholes and ensure ferry companies running regular services to and from the British isles pay their crew the UK minimum wage.
Government officials are understood to be meeting with rival operators Stena Line and DFDS on Monday to discuss the legislation, along with measures to tackle possible Easter travel chaos if services remain disrupted.
Fresh demonstrations against the sackings are planned for this week, with the RMT union turning its attention to P&O Ferries’ supply chain, including the maritime agencies involved with recruiting workers. The union said there would be a protest outside the Glasgow offices of Clyde Marine Recruitment – which describes itself as Europe’s leading supplier of marine personnel – on Monday morning.
Demonstrations took place in Liverpool, Dover and Hull on Saturday as the outcry over P&O Ferries’ decision to sack its crews and replace them with cheaper foreign workers.
The firm’s chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, last week admitted that it broke the law by dismissing the workers without consultation. He told a Commons hearing on Thursday: “There’s absolutely no doubt we were required to consult with the unions. We chose not to do that.”
It is understood Shapps will write to Hebblethwaite to say there is still time for the firm to reconsider its strategy,and it may as well act because otherwise the government will force its hand.
Following calls from MPs and others for
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