P&O has been slammed by trade unions and politicians in Scotland today after the ferry operator sacked 800 of its staff.
The foreign-owned company - which is one of two operators on the vital Cairnryan to Larne route - is on the verge of bankruptcy and is reportedly considering slashing pay and conditions for people that work on its ships.
P&O could instead rely on agency workers who will not be considered permanent staff and will be paid lower wages.
A full statement from the company is expected later today and in the meantime all of its sailings are suspended.
The RMT union - which represents ferry staff - has told its members not to leave P&O boats
Roz Foyer, STUC general sectetary, 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."
The P&O crisis was raised at First Minister's Questions today and Nicola Sturgeon said ministers were waiting on more detail from the company.
She said: "The relevant issue for Scotland here is the Cairnryan - Larne route and we will pay particular attention to any implications for that - it obviously supports a number of sailings every day.
She added: "We have to await the detail - but this will be a seriously worrying time for those who work for P&O.
"I know this has been a difficult time for ferry operators, and I don't underestimate that, but I hope we are not about to see a mass-scale fire and rehire situation.
"We will engage with all of those involved and keep parliament updated."
RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch said there is “growing speculation that the company are today planning to sack hundreds of UK seafarers and replace them with foreign labour”.
He added: “We have instructed our members to remain on board 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.”
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