What’s happening to P and O

Just shows that the Brexit promise of protecting British jobs was a joke.

The announcement stated that these members of staff had been made redundant. How come that they are immediately being replaced as that is illegal? If not a British company anymore, how come they were furloughed?

Jaberwok

The announcement stated that these members of staff had been made redundant. How come that they are immediately being replaced as that is illegal? If not a British company anymore, how come they were furloughed?

They are being replaced with agency workers so these people are employed by the agency they work for not P&O.
The previous workers were taxed in the UK so furlough payments for them was not illegal

Just a quick reminder that recently conservative MPs were instructed to vote against a bill which would have prevented employers being able to "fire and rehire". Many British gas employees have been laid off and tytn offered their jobs back with considerably worse employment protection and conditions. Presumably P&O ferries will save millions each year in pensions, sick pay, training costs etc by employing third world nationals through agencies. I will bet my house on the agencies being owned by Tory MPs or their pals.

They have just mentioned association with free ports. Not quite sure what that is all about. Willing to bet it won’t favour the worker.

The sackings (or whatever you like to call them) apparently only applied to UK workers. Employees from EU countries are still in post.

Make of this what you will.

This was from 2019:

An overall loss of £14.7m caused by pension contribution charges and a rising pension deficit could lead to P&O Ferries being in danger of folding.

www.pensionsage.com/pa/P-O-Ferries-pension-liabilities-increase-could-sink-firm.php

They knew there were problems as long ago as then.

However, I'm sure that deficit is peanuts to the billionaire owners.

H1954

Well, that's convinced me to never again go on a P & O cruise! Appalling way to treat people! I hope P & O go bust!

P and O Cruises is owned by a different company to P and O Ferries.

Please don't be misled by the name, it's a separate entity and belongs to Carnival - if you boycott them it makes no difference to the owners of P and O Ferries and would put even more people out of work.

P and O Shipping is owned by Maersk, I think

Devorgilla

They have just mentioned association with free ports. Not quite sure what that is all about. Willing to bet it won’t favour the worker.

Free Ports are 'free' of domestic legislation. That includes employment legislation. They have been heavily promoted by the government as being good for trade and employment. I don't think people employed in them with no protection by employment legislation are going to agree with the government...

The owners of P & O ferries are DP World, based in Dubai. There is heavy Russian investment in the company apparently...

DP World are associated with the setting up of Free Ports in the UK, I gather.

Something is going on...

silverlining48

Certainly there seem to be fewer lorries on the motorway to dover than there used to be but P&0 have made massive profits again this year so unclear why this has happened.
Is this just the ferries as they have a huge fleet of cruiseships too.

Different companies, different owners.

suep1953

Just to clarify P&O Ferries are completely separate from P&O Cruises

www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/20001098.p-o-cruises-sharing-brunt-sackings-p-o-ferries---despite-no-link/

?

I think we need to shout it a bit louder, suep1953!!

Callistemon21

H1954

Well, that's convinced me to never again go on a P & O cruise! Appalling way to treat people! I hope P & O go bust!

P and O Cruises is owned by a different company to P and O Ferries.

Please don't be misled by the name, it's a separate entity and belongs to Carnival - if you boycott them it makes no difference to the owners of P and O Ferries and would put even more people out of work.

P and O Shipping is owned by Maersk, I think

DP World (owner of P & O Ferries) already owed its maritime workers’ pension fund £146 million, which is putting the whole fund (and pensions) at risk.

Meanwhile, the company has contracts for four freeports, including London Gateway, and benefit from lower tax rates on a range of activities.

This was Rishi Sunak celebrating DP World's involvement in freeports:

www.cityam.com/sunak-thrilled-by-dp-world-investment/

Ha ha ha! (sarcastic)

Basically, they're money laundering hubs situated on British soil and a law unto themselves. They'll take away business from conventional British ports and won't even have to employ British workers.

If these were British enough jobs to enable huge government payouts, then why aren’t the government doing anything? Makes you so proud to be British eh?

The irony is that the French employees haven't been sacked, because they are protected by EU employment laws.

The employees' union, RMT, was staunchly in favour of Brexit.

Before the referendum, the union wrote:

"Environmental regulations, employment rights, food safety, privacy laws and many other safeguards will aslo be secondary to the rights of corporations to make even bigger profits ...

The EU has promoted undercutting and social dumping leading to the decimation of UK seafarers ...

The EU is developing a new policy framework to attack trade union rights, collective bargaining, job protections and wages ..."

The RMT members were duped. The RMT leadership and anybody else who claims they voted Brexit to protect British workers should be hanging their head in shame. The likes of Rees-Mogg and Sunak knew very well why they were in favour of Brexit and had good reasons (for them). Their success was to con those who had much to lose.

DP World does have the money to keep the jobs, but it wants to increase profits and diversify into property and operating ports. It also has a growing involvement in Russia.

vegansrock

If these were British enough jobs to enable huge government payouts, then why aren’t the government doing anything? Makes you so proud to be British eh?

What could the government do? Any state aid would go straight towards funding property and port acquisition in Africa or Russia. It's too late.

Jaberwok

The announcement stated that these members of staff had been made redundant. How come that they are immediately being replaced as that is illegal? If not a British company anymore, how come they were furloughed?

No, it's not illegal. Apparently, there was a law in 2018 which enables the practice.

MaizieD

The sackings (or whatever you like to call them) apparently only applied to UK workers. Employees from EU countries are still in post.

Make of this what you will.

Called economic and political clout. Something we are swiftly learning that we have lost- big time.

Brexit is a disaster for employees.

Whitewavemark2

MaizieD

The sackings (or whatever you like to call them) apparently only applied to UK workers. Employees from EU countries are still in post.

Make of this what you will.

Called economic and political clout. Something we are swiftly learning that we have lost- big time.

It's called freedom from the obligation to follow regulations which protect workers.

DP World is far from bankrupt. It's offloading inconvenient employees - because it can and nobody can stop it.

If P&O Ferries are backed by Russian investment it’s direct action against UK interests, as has been said the losses are peanuts to the billionaire owners.
The ferry competitors will be rubbing their hands, particularly French owned Brittany Ferries.

I’ve seen online that the government is asking for the millions paid to PandO to be repaired.

A benefit if Brexit

James Oh Brien

If you think the P&O story is bad, have a read of ‘Britannia Unchained’ by Patel, Raab, Truss, Kwarteng & Skidmore: British workers are "among the worst idlers in the world". The UK "rewards laziness” & must strive to emulate the work ethic & low-tax culture in parts of Asia.
I mention this because when any of the above, or any of their Cabinet colleagues, turn up on TV or radio to cry crocodile tears about sacked P&O workers, it should be pointed out that this practice is precisely what four current Cabinet ministers want to see more of.

This government could have made this practice illegal but chose not to. In 2020 DP world paid out 270 million to shareholders, whilst cutting 1100 jobs. All that banging on about a high wage economy has gone silent hasn't it? Its obvious the government fully support this policy of P and O.

That's right. Not the French. Not the Germans. etc. The EU has rules and laws about this sort of thing, it's not allowed basically.
Brexit? Low waged labour? Government that wants to reduce red tape?

Appears the Bristish staff have been made redundant and foreign staff employed to replace them. I might be wrong, but I thought if redundant the position no longer existed. You couldn't make someone redundant then employ someone to do the exact same job. Also you can't sack someone arbitrarily you need a valid reason eg poor performance with minuted meetings as a warning.