P&O FERRIES OFF THE HOOK

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 ::september 2022 :: RMTnews 15 RMT has slammed the decision by the Insolvency Service not to press criminal charges against P&O Ferries after it fired nearly 800 employees in March and replaced them with low paid agency workers. Only days earlier the rogue employer posted first half year profits of £600 million exposing claims that the mass sackings were necessary for operational sustainability as a complete fabrication. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the rampant profiteering following P&O Ferries sacking 800 workers was already a stain on the government’s international reputation. “Now the company has been allowed to get off the hook legally despite claims by the government it would take action. “Not only has this government stood by while DP World sacked workers and replaced them with low paid agency workers It is now planning to do the same on the railways to replace striking workers fighting for their rights,” he said. The union has written to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP to demand a meeting to discuss the government’s failure to take action over the P&O scandal despite claiming outrage at the time. Despite the illegal sackings the Ministry of Defence has spent £50,000 making over 300 bookings on P&O services which are now crewed with exploited agency crews flown in to work months solid for under £4 per hour. Mick Lynch said that the government had completely failed to penalise P&O or any of the other low-cost operators. “Ministers regularly express their anger and commitment to tackle P&O Ferries and DP World but nothing has been done to reverse these actions or to close loopholes in order to prevent a repeat of this outrageous action. “The outgoing Prime Minister also told the Commons on March 23 that the government was taking legal action against P&O but, despite these grand public statements, P&O has not been prosecuted and no ferry operators have been suspended. “The government points to international maritime law as a barrier to taking action against P&O yet DP World has posted a record £600 million profit in the first half of this year and P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite has been promoted to the board of P&O and publicly praised by DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. “It is also shocking to learn that the Ministry of Defence has spent public money on P&O Ferries services and continues to receive support from the taxpayer,” he said. P&O FERRIES OFF THE HOOK