Two long-serving P&O Ferries workers yesterday told how they’ve dedicated half their lives to the firm – only to be cruelly sunk without trace by the heartless bosses.
Chefs Mark Patterson and Alan McCulloch, of Stranraer, never missed a shift during lockdown or took a penny of furlough, as they kept their ship sailing between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The men, both 59, are among 800 to be given the boot – to be replaced by what union bosses are calling “an army of scab labour”, on lower wages.
Mark and Alan, who earned £30,000 a year, each spent 30 years working for the firm, during which time they have felt like family members of fellow staff.
As they met at Cairnryan yesterday, they looked out on the huge European Causeway ferry, which they’ve worked on since it was introduced 21 years ago.
Mark slated P&O for the brutal way in which they were told their careers were finished, without notice, after decades of service. The same fate could affect up to 100 others in Scotland.
He said: “I was on a holiday at Centre Parcs on Thursday and I got a call right out of the blue to say I was sacked, with no notice or barely a thank you.
“There’s no jobs to be had down here, which is one issue. But I just can’t believe the callous way they did this after 30 years of service.
“There is not an inch of that boat I don’t know and I have felt like family with the other people on board.
“During the lockdown, I never missed a shift. I got on board and put my own health on the line, before vaccinations and boosters were a thing.
“Three of us did the work of five people – but this is the thanks we got. It’s disgraceful and I feel we have been treated like our service meant nothing.”
Protests were yesterday staged at Dover, Liverpool, Hull and Larne and Cairnryan will stage one on Wednesday.
Unions are also calling for a boycott of P&O Ferries and a government clampdown on the “illegal” tactics, amid fears that the callous measures could be copied by other big employers.
Nearly a quarter of P&O Ferries’ staff were told on Thursday, many by video link, that it was their “final day of employment”.
Alan was also distraught at the way the company had treated him.
He said: “It feels like I’ve been kicked in the b****. It’s hard to comprehend what has happened because it was so sudden and we had no notice at all.
“I was on the boat, stationed in Larne, on Thursday and the food and beverage manager said there would be an announcement coming, which was ominous.
"Then we were gathered together to be told we were effectively getting the boot. They didn’t spell it out that a new bunch of cheaper staff were going to be walking into our jobs.
“So I was stuck over there and had to make the final trip back with this dreadful news to deal with.
“I feel disgusted and betrayed. We really felt when we were working through the Covid crisis that we were going beyond the call of duty. This is some way of repaying us.”
RMT union regional organiser Gordon Martin said: “It’s a hammer blow and sets a terrible precedent for workers’ rights. There is a dedicated workforce being replaced by a cheaper army of scab labour.
“P&O should be boycotted by any travellers who value workers’ rights. Their conduct should be examined because they have broken many rules that are meant to protect workers.
“We will be seeking legal redress for our members but this will be a massive blow for people around Cairnryan and Stranraer and the south west.”
Meanwhile Billy Jones, RMT branch secretary of Humber Shipping, accused P&O of paying new crew as little as £2.60 to £2.80 an hour. P&O did not comment but an insider insisted the figures were wrong.
But asked to provide the pay rates, they said the firm was unable to as the workers concerned were employed by an outside agency.
A petition by the RMT yesterday had been signed by more than 11,000 people. It called for workers to refuse to sign their redundancy agreements.
Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, asked why P&O sacked staff without notice or consultation. He said: “For staff to be told via a pre-recorded Zoom call is absolutely unacceptable.”
Stranraer councillor Willie Scobie also blasted P&O but he slammed the Scottish Government for not making infrastructure improvements to help P&O make a profit in Cairnryan.
He said: “There has been high level lobbying to get the approach to Cairnryan and Stranraer up to scratch. The single carriage road has greatly affected profitability.”
P&O Ferries, owned by Dubai-based DP World, said it was a tough decision but it would “not be a viable business” without making the changes.
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