P&O cancels Scots services as it fires 800 staff and are 'replaced by foreign labour'

Some crew are understood to be defying orders and are refusing to leave their ships in protest.

The development came as P&O had initially said early on Thursday morning that services were cancelled for "a few hours" and scores of drivers were 'turned away' at its major Scottish port Cairnryan.

The ferry operator said the "tough decision" to stop services was made to secure the future of the business.

As staff were informed of the redundancies by Zoom, motorists were refused entry to Cairnryan, Dumfries and Galloway and other UK ports on Thursday morning.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "The way these workers were informed was completely unacceptable."

P&O Ferries Limited, which made a £63m after tax profit in 2020 said they were not going into liquidation.

But sources suggest that the company which employs almost 4,000 workers and has 20 ships is to make hundreds of seafaring staff redundant and hire agency workers to operate its ships.

Union RMT, which said crew members were being "replaced with foreign labour" has told  members to remain onboard.  The union is demanding its members across P&O’s UK operations are protected and that the the UK government intervenes to save UK seafarers from the dole queue.

Private security officers have been sent onto one ship docked at Larne Harbour in Northern Ireland, to remove staff on board, according to the RMT.

P&O said its survival was dependent on "making swift and significant changes now",

"In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent DP World. This is not sustainable. Without these changes there is no future for P&O Ferries," it said.

"These circumstances have resulted in a very difficult but necessary decision, which was only taken after seriously considering all the available options. As part of the process we are starting today, we are providing 800 seafarers with immediate severance notices and will be compensating them for this lack of advance notice with enhanced compensation packages. "

There are seven scheduled P&O services between Larne in County Antrim and Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway today.

Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Roz Foyer said: “This is a damning, outrageous move from P&O and we offer our full support to the RMT Union and all their members.

“We cannot – and will not - permit hundreds of workers to be sacked on the spot to be replaced by cheaper labour whilst P&O scramble to remain viable.

“We need to see an urgent statement from both the UK Government and the Scottish Government on how they intend to halt this scandalous misuse of employer power."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was a "seriously worrying" time for P&O staff added: "I’m deeply concerned at P&O announcement - due to the importance to Scotland of the Cairnryan/Larne route obviously, but also the impact on 100s of workers. Fire & rehire is an appalling practice & offends the basic principle of fair work."

Conservative MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke, who is a finance lawyer said it was time to "close the gap in seafaring legislation to protect British jobs and enforce pay and other standards for seafarers".

The company, which operates the route between Scotland and Northern Ireland, said at around 7.39am that it  would be unable to run services for “the next few hours”.

Six hours later,  it was repeating the same message.

Customers have been told that they should arrive at the port  as booked and that they would arrange to get them away on an "alternative carrier as quickly as possible".

All vessels were told to “discharge their passengers and cargo and standby for further instructions”.

A statement which appears to be from the ferry operator shared by a Labour MP said it “will be making a major announcement today”.

This will “secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries”, it read.

A spokesperson denied the company was going into liquidation.

People have lodge complaints that alternative carriers were not honouring bookings.

Was sent to Stenaline in Belfast for alternate Cairnryan route. Told by P&O staff that all reservations were transferred and would be honoured. Got to Stena, they know nothing and are not honouring the bookings. Provide directions for full refunds please.

— Morgan Ryan (@MrMorganRyan) March 17, 2022

The P&O statement added:  “This means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today.”

P&O Ferries wrote on Twitter: “Regretfully, P&O Ferries services are unable to run for the next few hours.

“Our port teams will guide you and travel will be arranged via an alternative operator.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this will have on your journey plans.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “This is very concerning news from P&O. The company provides a vital link between Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is also an important employer in South West Scotland, supporting many jobs in the local area. I have today written to P&O asking for urgent clarity on what this means for the service and for jobs.”

RMT, the union, has demanded protection for UK seafarer jobs amid speculation that “hundreds of are to be sacked and replaced with foreign labour”.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We are deeply disturbed by growing speculation that the company are today planning to sack hundreds of UK seafarers and replace them with foreign labour.

“We have instructed our members to remain onboard and are demanding our members across P&O’s UK operations are protected and that the secretary of state intervenes to save UK seafarers from the dole queue.”

RMT spokesman Geoff Martin added: "We are digging in for the long-haul. We are determined to fight."

A statement released on social media by P&O Ferries said it “will be making a major announcement today”.

This will “secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries”, it read.

The statement added: “To facilitate this announcement all our vessels have been asked to discharge their passengers and cargo and standby for further instructions.

“This means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today.”

Cross-Channel ferry passengers and truck drivers were expected to be diverted to DFDS or Eurotunnel services.

A P&O source said: "P&O Ferries is not going into liquidation. We have asked all ships to come alongside, in preparation for a company announcement.

"Until then, services from P&O will not be running and we are advising travellers of alternative arrangements.”

The company, which transports passengers and freight, is owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, which bought the ferry company for £322m in 2019.

It operates these four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, P&O Ferries warned in May 2020 that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business “viable and sustainable”.

The company that would become P&O was founded in 1837 after signing a government contract to transport post by boat between London and the Iberian Peninsula.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: "This scandalous action is a betrayal of the workers that kept this country stocked throughout the pandemic.   Unscrupulous employers cannot be given free rein to sack their workforce in secure jobs and replace with agency staff.

"The Conservative government must not give the green light to this appalling practice and must act to secure the livelihoods of these workers."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said his officials were having "urgent discussions" with P&O Ferries after being questioned in the Commons by shadow transport minister Mike Kane.

Mr Shapps said: "I'm working with the Kent Resilience Forum and I've just instructed them to become intricately involved and other partners in this, and we'll be taking steps later today - including ensuring that my officials will be having urgent discussions with P&O about the situation, particularly of concern for their workers."

Darren Procter from the RMT said staff were given no warning.

"We were informed that there were coaches full of individuals looking to replace the staff with no consultation with the staff or unions. We've seen minibuses full of workers and security staff who have had handcuff training. This is how they plan to treat staff who show resistance."

The Nautilus union said: "The news that P&O Ferries is sacking the crew across its entire UK fleet is a betrayal of British workers. It is nothing short of scandalous given that this Dubai owned company received millions of pounds of British taxpayer’s money during the pandemic.

"There was no consultation and no notice given by P&O. Be assured the full resources of Nautilus International stand ready to act in defence of our members. We believe it is in our members’ best interests to stay onboard until further notice."