What it was like aboard the first P&O ferry trip after 800 crew sacked - and what we discovered
29.03.2022 - 12:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It's been less than two weeks since P&O Ferries made 800 members of staff redundant with immediate effect via a Zoom call. Seafarers have been replaced with agency workers who are being paid below the UK's minimum wage, the company's CEO Peter Hebblethwaite said last week.
He was urged to quit by MPs, after the firm admitted breaking employment law when it sacked the 800 workers without notice. Mr Hebblethwaite acknowledged there is “absolutely no doubt” the ferry operator was required to consult with trade unions prior to dismissing the workers.
On Saturday, P&O's Pride of Rotterdam embarked on its first trip from Hull since the sackings. Hull's Local Democracy Reporter Joe Gerrard ventured to the Netherlands aboard a P&O ferry to see what it was like...
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The welcoming party for passengers arriving to embark at Hull’s King George Dock on Saturday evening was three British Transport Police cars and their officers. The Pride of Rotterdam almost did not arrive in Hull, after Rotterdam dockers tried to prevent her leaving in a show of solidarity with sacked British crew.
But she eventually got underway and docked in Hull early in the morning, amid threats of a picket to stop cargo being loaded. The police seemed to be on hand to ward off any action and their presence appeared to have worked.
A queue of cars snaked from the dock onto the boat, with the occasional caravan in tow. But when I arrived at around 6pm, the foot passenger terminal was eerily quiet.
I was the one of the only passengers and walked straight to the desk, showed my tickets and documents and was ushered up the gangplank and onto the Pride of Rotterdam after going
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