P&O’s response to mass sackings is a ‘national disgrace’

A union has said a year on, the government's response to the sacking of nearly 800 P&O workers is a national scandal.

P&O Ferries services were suspended after the mass sackings and several of the company's vessels failed safety inspections before being allowed to resume operations.

In August, the Insolvency Service said P&O would not face criminal proceedings because there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. The union's general secretary Mick Lynch said it was a national disgrace that the government has taken no concrete action against the DP World for unlawfully sacking 786 seafarers last year.

We will continue to campaign for stronger seafarers' rights through fair pay agreements, revoking P&O Ferries Royal Charter, banning DP World from freeport tax reliefs, ending discrimination at sea, and the scrapping of anti-trade union laws. A government spokesman said that we had made significant progress on the nine-point plan that we set out last year to improve seafarers' pay and conditions, and we reacted swiftly and decisively against P&O Ferries' appalling treatment of its staff. P&O said it had millions of pounds invested in its fleet because of strong customer demand for its services.

A spokesman said: Significant changes in the last year have saved this business, including the 2,200 jobs we secured in coastal communities across the UK.

We are now serving the needs of our passenger and freight customers much better than ever before.