P&O Ferries sacks workers and docks ships
- Thread starter wemakeyousoundb
- Start date
sadly as ever fines are just a cost of doing business
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
If it probably isn't possible to get the 800 reinstated, then at least P&O need to suffer significant enough consequences that no other employer in the sector will even think about doing the same thing. If they get away with this scot-free, or with token fines or whatever, then the race to the bottom gets significantly steeper and faster.
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Which is not what one tends to want with cross-channel ferries
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Two more Liverpool protests called for Wednesday and Saturday, both at a godforsaken time in the morning though:
Protests in Liverpool Wednesday and Saturday.
RMT members will be joined by other activists this week in Liverpool for two demonstrations to protest against the sacking of 800 workers by P&O.
The protests will be taking place on Weds 23rd March 0700 and Saturday 26th March 0700 at the Port of Liverpool L21 LA
The demonstrations will demand the reinstatement of the P&O workers and call on government to take action against P&O and their parent company DP World to ensure that happens.
Save P&O Jobs
Seafarers union RMT members will be joined by other activists this week in Liverpool for two demonstrations to protest against the sacking of 800 workers by P&O.
www.rmt.org.uk
Protests in Liverpool Wednesday and Saturday.
RMT members will be joined by other activists this week in Liverpool for two demonstrations to protest against the sacking of 800 workers by P&O.
The protests will be taking place on Weds 23rd March 0700 and Saturday 26th March 0700 at the Port of Liverpool L21 LA
The demonstrations will demand the reinstatement of the P&O workers and call on government to take action against P&O and their parent company DP World to ensure that happens.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
An ET can order reinstatement- particularly if they find automatic unfair dismissal. However, the employer can refuse to comply with the order and all an ET can do at point is to increase the financial penalty by 25%.
However, at this point, I think it’s about political pressure and large demos to put P&O under pressure to buckle.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
This is where the reaction of the French Govt, Unions and Public is in many ways more critical than the response of the UK ones, If a company paying UK workers £9ph can't compete then a French one paying £15ph sure as hell can't and French employment law makes this shit largely impossible. It is going to get interesting when and if P&O start sailing across the Channel again.
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Think you must be wrong there, Ireland's still in the EU so I'm pretty sure it's impossible for anything bad to ever happen there?
(Serious, non-trolling response would be: Just to clarify, by "do this" you mean "pay people sub-minimum-wage rates", not "push through mass sackings to replace their existing workforce with people on sub-minimum-wage rates", right?)
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
Do French ferries sail to Ireland though?
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
teuchter
je suis teuchter
I was reading this (written last year) earlier but there is probably better info out there.
www.jacobinmag.com
At the White Cliffs of Dover, Shipping Giants Are Paying Below Minimum Wage
Just 25 miles across the English Channel from France, Dover is one of Europe’s most important ports. Yet massive outsourcing has allowed shipping giants to evade British labor law, putting passengers in the hands of underpaid, overworked agency staff.
www.jacobinmag.com
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Cheers for that, I hadn't realised that Irish Ferries had pulled what sounds like exactly the same move in 2005:I was reading this (written last year) earlier but there is probably better info out there.
At the White Cliffs of Dover, Shipping Giants Are Paying Below Minimum Wage
Just 25 miles across the English Channel from France, Dover is one of Europe’s most important ports. Yet massive outsourcing has allowed shipping giants to evade British labor law, putting passengers in the hands of underpaid, overworked agency staff.
Irish Ferries crisis deepens as workers dig in
A bitter industrial crisis involving Irish Ferries deepened last night after the removal of security personnel from two ships in Wales failed to bring a breakthrough in negotiations.
(If only the EU had existed in 2005 so it could've been averted, etc etc).
eta: snap!
teuchter
je suis teuchter
What appears to have happened is that post 2005 several EU states did decide to enact laws aimed at preventing "fire and hire" but the UK did not.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
It’s not fire and re-hire in either P&O case (the UK or Irish workers). Under fire and re-hire the workers are retained and remain in employment just on vastly inferior contracts. Fire and re-hire is becoming relatively more widely used, but has not been used by P&O. In both the Ireland and the UK P&O ferry cases the approach is fire and engage new workers from employment agencies.
Ironically, and as an aside, the EU has made it much easier for employers to replace workers with agency labour, through freedom of movement laws designed to bring cheap labour to where unscrupulous employers need it (in jobs and trades where the work can’t be offshored for example).
Wasn't there supposed to be a demo outside parliament yesterday? I've not seen any coverage of it anywhere.
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Yep:
Hundreds gather outside Parliament to protest about mass sacking by P&O Ferries | ITV News
Union representing many workers accuses ferry company of throwing dedicated workers 'on the scrapheap' | ITV News Meridian
www.itv.com
Hard to keep track of what's going on cos it's fast-moving - RMT now claim there's also one happening in Larne but no details confirmed, and going to be another in Dover on Saturday at 12:
P&O sacking demonstrations this week
Seafarers Union RMT is organising mass demonstrations at ports up and down the country, to show DP World and the government that public anger is growing over the sacking of 800 P&O staff.
www.rmt.org.uk
Everything I can find online says the Liverpool Saturday one is still scheduled for pain-in-the-arse o'clock in the morning, but I've heard via email it's being moved to 11:30am, will add confirmation when I can see anything backing me up.
I suppose the Dover one is definitely of interest to Kent posters, but now there's a few days' notice of it, other London/SE urbs may want to try getting down there as well?
Cheers hitmouse.Yep:
Hundreds gather outside Parliament to protest about mass sacking by P&O Ferries | ITV News
Union representing many workers accuses ferry company of throwing dedicated workers 'on the scrapheap' | ITV News Meridian
Hard to keep track of what's going on cos it's fast-moving - RMT now claim there's also one happening in Larne but no details confirmed, and going to be another in Dover on Saturday at 12:
P&O sacking demonstrations this week
Seafarers Union RMT is organising mass demonstrations at ports up and down the country, to show DP World and the government that public anger is growing over the sacking of 800 P&O staff.www.rmt.org.uk
Everything I can find online says the Liverpool Saturday one is still scheduled for pain-in-the-arse o'clock in the morning, but I've heard via email it's being moved to 11:30am, will add confirmation when I can see anything backing me up.
I suppose the Dover one is definitely of interest to Kent posters, but now there's a few days' notice of it, other London/SE urbs may want to try getting down there as well?
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Latest on the redundancy packages.
www.lbc.co.uk
As was suggested at the time that this kicked off the P&O strategy is clearly to convert these redundancies into ‘voluntary redundancies’ through the packages, NDAs and subtle intimidation as to what will happen if workers don’t sign up.
They are still on the hook for the failure to consult unions and the workforce and inform the UK government. But this is going to be very difficult for unions to manage.
RMT response:
RMT exposes the bullying truth behind P&O "staff package"
Maritime Union RMT tonight slammed what it described as a "disgusting statement" from P&O Ferries trying to justify one of the most shameful acts by any employer in recent history
Sacked seafarers have been basically told that if they don’t sign up to be gagged by a non-disclosure agreements you not only lose your job you lose money as well. This is from an organisation which has received millions from the taxpayer to support furlough payments and whose parent company DP world paid out vast sums in dividends last year
General Secretary Mick Lynch said;
"These are the actions of a bully trying to maximise profits by sacking workers and replacing them with agency staff below the minimum wage.
"The detail of what the company are imposing is not new. The 2.5 weeks is what we have negotiated in the past with P&O.
"The pay in lieu of notice is not compensation, it is just a payment staff are contractually entitled to as there was no notice given.
"The way that the package has been structured is pure blackmail and threats– that if staff do not sign up and give away their jobs and their legal right to take the company to an employment tribunal they will receive a fraction of the amount put to them.
"The actions of P&O demonstrate the weakness of employment law and protections in the UK. P&O have flagrantly breached the law and abandoned any standards of workplace decency. They have ripped away the jobs, careers and pensions of our members and thrown the on the dole with the threat that if they do not sign up and give away their rights they will lose many thousands of pounds in payments.
"This is totally unacceptable and RMT will continue to campaign for our members to be reinstated at P&O and for better employment laws to protect all British workers."
P&O to pay out more than £36m in compensation to sacked staff
P&O Ferries has said it will pay out more than £36 million in compensation to staff who were sacked without notice last week.
www.lbc.co.uk
As was suggested at the time that this kicked off the P&O strategy is clearly to convert these redundancies into ‘voluntary redundancies’ through the packages, NDAs and subtle intimidation as to what will happen if workers don’t sign up.
They are still on the hook for the failure to consult unions and the workforce and inform the UK government. But this is going to be very difficult for unions to manage.
RMT response:
RMT exposes the bullying truth behind P&O "staff package"
Maritime Union RMT tonight slammed what it described as a "disgusting statement" from P&O Ferries trying to justify one of the most shameful acts by any employer in recent history
Sacked seafarers have been basically told that if they don’t sign up to be gagged by a non-disclosure agreements you not only lose your job you lose money as well. This is from an organisation which has received millions from the taxpayer to support furlough payments and whose parent company DP world paid out vast sums in dividends last year
General Secretary Mick Lynch said;
"These are the actions of a bully trying to maximise profits by sacking workers and replacing them with agency staff below the minimum wage.
"The detail of what the company are imposing is not new. The 2.5 weeks is what we have negotiated in the past with P&O.
"The pay in lieu of notice is not compensation, it is just a payment staff are contractually entitled to as there was no notice given.
"The way that the package has been structured is pure blackmail and threats– that if staff do not sign up and give away their jobs and their legal right to take the company to an employment tribunal they will receive a fraction of the amount put to them.
"The actions of P&O demonstrate the weakness of employment law and protections in the UK. P&O have flagrantly breached the law and abandoned any standards of workplace decency. They have ripped away the jobs, careers and pensions of our members and thrown the on the dole with the threat that if they do not sign up and give away their rights they will lose many thousands of pounds in payments.
"This is totally unacceptable and RMT will continue to campaign for our members to be reinstated at P&O and for better employment laws to protect all British workers."
Are you certain about that? The link you posted is from the 17th - just before the last demo.
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Eh? It looks like it's 22nd to me: P&O sacking demonstrations this week
And there's a little flipthrough thing that says Liverpool and Dover on the 26th, if you go to this it should give you a PDF that says they're doing Dover then:
P&O Demo Flyer
www.rmt.org.uk
OK, thankyou.Eh? It looks like it's 22nd to me: P&O sacking demonstrations this week
And there's a little flipthrough thing that says Liverpool and Dover on the 26th, if you go to this it should give you a PDF that says they're doing Dover then:
P&O Demo Flyer
www.rmt.org.uk
NoXion
Craicy the Squirrel
Scupper the fucking ships. Obviously that's entirely up to those willing and in a position to do so, but I fear that anything less would be a green light to similar companies to likewise do this kind of bullshit.
brogdale
Coming to terms with late onset Anarchism
A minister so execrable that he made his successor, Shapps, look like a better option.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
even if that improvement is only miniscule.
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