P&O Ferries boss should quit after ‘brazen’ mass sackings, says Shapps
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has called for the chief executive of P&O Ferries to resign over the sacking of 800 workers and pledged to force the ferry company to reverse the move and pay its crew the minimum wage.
Peter Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs on Thursday that his company broke the law by sacking the 800 workers without consultation.
Shapps said Hebblethwaite’s performance in front of the transport and business committees was “brazen, breathtaking, and showed incredible arrogance”.
Speaking to Sky News, Shapps said: “I cannot believe that he can stay in that role having admitted to deliberately going out and using a loophole – well, break the law – but also use a loophole.
“They flagged their ships through Cyprus [which meant they] avoided having to tell anybody about this, or they felt they did. And even though they know they’ve broken the law, what they’ve done is to pay people off in such a way to try and buy their silence. It’s unacceptable.”
Shapps also pledged new legislation next week which will “both close every possible loophole that exists, and force them to U-turn”.
He said P&O’s plan to replace the sacked workers with agency staff on less than the minimum wage was “simply unacceptable and we will force that to change”.
He accused P&O of “mischievously” registering their ships under the Cyprus flag to avoid UK laws. He added: “They were breaking the law and deliberately set out to break the law, but effectively pay people off for their silence.
“We can’t have a situation where the minimum wage exists onshore, but as soon as you’re offshore … people aren’t covered by British laws on things like minimum wage, and overseas cheap labour is exploited on those routes.”
Shapps suggested the new law, which he
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