P&O Ferries broke the law by firing 800 employees

800 P&O workers were suddenly fired last week, in a company’s attempt to cut financial spending and save the business.

However, the move was found to be out of law. The Government now aims to protect maritime workers.

“If the company is found guilty then they face fines running into millions of pounds,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented during meeting in the House of Commons.

On the other hand, P&O Ferries said that it will pay up to £36.5 million in order to compensate the workers, in what is the "largest compensation package in the British marine sector", while insisting it did not break any laws by making the staff redundant and that it had "no other viable means of preserving [the] iconic British business."

Nevertheless, unions do not agree with the decision.

"These are the actions of a bully trying to maximise profits by sacking workers and replacing them with agency staff below the minimum wage.

"The pay in lieu of notice is not compensation, it is just a payment staff are contractually entitled to as there was no notice given", commented Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the Maritime Union RMT.

Passenger disruptions are also expected due to the recent move, as the company aims to find crew replacements. According to the most recent release by P&O Ferries, passengers are advised to travel only if necessary, as the company will try to find alternative routes for the already booked trips or pay refunds for the crossings that cannot be completed due to the disruption.

"We of course have long planned contingencies for this sort of situation, particularly around the Channel, and I do not expect the supply of critical goods and services to be impacted as a result of the decision by P&O, although queues on the way to Dover are more likely to occur at times," UK parliamentary Robert Courts also declared about the situation.

"Reports of workers being given zero notice and escorted off their ships with immediate effect while being told cheaper alternatives would take up their roles shows the insensitive nature by which P&O approached this issue. I would have expected far better for the workers involved", he continued, as the UK government considers the company’s move "wholly unacceptable".

P&O Ferries operates more than 20 ships across the English Channel, North Sea, and Irish Sea and employs over 4.000 crew members. P&O Cruises will not be impacted by the P&O Ferries mass firing decision.

Source: euronews.com