‘There were grown men in tears’: P&O crews stunned by sackings

theguardian.com:

Sacked P&O workers have spoken of their devastation after they unexpectedly lost their jobs on Thursday, warning that the redundancies will wreak major damage on a local community in which many people’s livelihoods depend on the shipping company.

Employees were angry that P&O had delivered the message in an online meeting, and dismayed that handcuff-trained security guards were employed to take crew members off ships. They said they had watched former colleagues, who had woken up this morning expecting to complete a normal shift, carry their bags off ships in floods of tears.

Furious ex-staff held a demonstration close to the ports around lunchtime, but had dispersed by early afternoon amid concerns about the impact on their severance offer.

One former employee said many of his ex-colleagues were worried about how they will pay their mortgages, especially since in many households in Dover “both breadwinners” work for P&O.

One 46-year-old P&O crew member, who has worked on the decks for 30 years, said he was worried about how he would support his family with two young children. “The news still hasn’t really sunk in. There aren’t many opportunities in this area,” he said.

“There was no ‘thank you for your service’. There were grown men in tears worrying what to do about their mortgages. We’ve been treated abysmally. This was planned for ages, it’s not off the hoof,” he added.

The three former P&O employees who spoke to the Guardian, who between them had given the company 100 years of service, asked not to be named due to P&O’s policy against speaking to the media.

Commiserating over beers in the RMT office, they were visibly distraught, but were comforted by messages of support on social media and from MPs debating the issue in