Defiant P&O crew staged a ferry sit-in after the firm sacked 800 staff via Zoom today.
The ferry operator summoned staff to on-board meetings where they were told in a short video message that they were being laid off immediately.
Coachloads of agency workers were waiting nearby to cover for the sacked staff, some of whom had given many years of loyal service.
Security guards, some allegedly with handcuffs and balaclavas, were reportedly hired to clear crew from the vessels, said union Nautilus International.
Seafarers and officers on P&O ferry Pride of Hull drew up the gangplanks and refused to budge. The ferry, moored in the city’s King George Dock, normally carries a crew of 141 and is one of Europe’s biggest, crossing between Hull and the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
Its Dutch captain, Eugene Fabier, was praised for standing by his crew. The sit-in ended by this evening.
P&O, owned by multi-billion-pound Dubai-based DP World, had begun the day by ordering vessels back to port, cancelling crossings and leaving customers in the lurch.
The shipping giant blamed mounting losses, saying: “We have made a £100million loss year on year which has been covered by our parent, DP World. This is not sustainable.”
P&O cut around 1,000 staff during the pandemic, while claiming almost £15million in government grants in 2020, including furlough payments. Yet group revenues at owner DP World jumped to £8.1billion last year, while profits hit £2.9billion.
Mark Dickinson, head of Nautilus International, called today’s mass layoff “a betrayal of British workers”.
He added: “It is nothing short of scandalous, given that this Dubai-owned company received millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money during the pandemic.”
Gaz Jackson, RMT organiser for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, said the Hull crew were devastated as he said P&O’s actions were unforgivable. He added: “I’ve seen grown men crying on there because they don’t know where they’re going to go from today.”
It is “very likely” the new crew “won’t be British seafarers”, he said. Hull Labour MP Karl Turner said P&O had treated staff with “utter contempt”.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told the Commons: “It’s beneath contempt. The action of thugs.”
The RMT called on the Government to “stop what is fast turning into one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations”.
One woman, who did not want to be named, had a husband and son who lost their jobs on Dover ferries overnight. She claimed: “Even the captains didn’t know what was happening. Then pictures emerged of three coach loads of foreign workers waiting at ports to take their jobs.
“They were already wearing P&O uniforms – and the staff still hadn’t been told they were being let go.
“They were told they had five minutes to get their stuff and get off the ships. These guys are week-on, week-off workers who’ve called these ships home for half every year.”
P&O Ferries, which takes passengers and freight, operates Dover to Calais, Hull to Rotterdam, Liverpool to Dublin and Cairnryan to Larne. It has 2,200 employees remaining in the UK.
Tom Long of law firm Shakespeare Martineau said mass redundancy requires a 45-day consultation process. It was unclear last night whether that had taken place.
The PM’s spokesman said: “We’re speaking to the company to understand what approach it is taking.”
Labour urged the Government to get back taxpayers’ cash given to the firm and cancel any contracts and licences with P&O.
