AN MP has vowed to boycott P&O ferries after hearing “disgraceful” evidence from its CEO who tried to explain why he had sacked 800 staff without notice.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP and member of the Commons Transport Committee said he will no longer use the firm while it remains under its current management.
Speaking to the Herald, Mr Newlands said the remarks from Peter Hebblethwaite, the firm’s chief executive, at the Transport committee this morning were "the most disgraceful piece of evidence I have heard in seven years of select committee membership”.
He said: “I was shocked at the utter shamelessness on display this morning from Peter Hebblethwaite.
“To come to the House of Commons and admit to the committee that his company wilfully broke UK employment law, and then state he would do it all again was the most disgraceful piece of evidence I’ve heard in seven years’ worth of Select Committee membership.”
He added that his apology, given at the start of the session, had been “rendered hollow and meaningless” after the P&O boss said he would repeat the same action again today, and said the revelation that staff were to be paid as little as £5.15 per hour “astonishing”.
The MP continued: “We know that P&O pays other foreign workers as little as £2.50 per hour - this is tantamount to modern-day slavery and must be addressed, both domestically and internationally.”
Mr Newlands was critical of the salaries for new workers, adding that the CEO “Of course could not live on such a meagre pittance, but he’s ok with his £325,000 basic wage, doubtless topped up with a bonus for successfully sacking 800 hard-working crew.”
READ MORE: P&O boss on £325,000 apologises to sacked staff after asked if he is a 'shameless criminal'
He added that the UK Government had to show more urgency, rather than giving the Insolvency Service a deadline of April 8 to investigate P&O for potential employment law breaches, explaining: ”This date is after various deadlines set by P&O, including today, on some of the settlement agreements they’ve given to employees.
“They need to impound the ships and get P&O in court without delay, for the crime they’ve literally just admitted breaking.
“I suspect though that this action, rather than saving P&O, will actually precipitate their demise.
“Very few, and certainly not I, will use P&O again under current ownership and management.”
Mr Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs that the P&O brand had suffered as a result of the company’s actions, with some cancellations since the sackings last week.
However he said it would “take time” to rebuild confidence in the “British icon” company, which has been operating in the UK since 1837.
One MP replied that the country is “not proud” of P&O, and it is no longer an iconic firm in the UK after its sacking of 800 staff.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel