By Government scraps P&O contract
The government has cancelled a contract with P&O Ferries after nearly 800 staff were sacked without notice in March.
The Home Office said a P&O agreement with UK Border Force would come to an end “with immediate effect”.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “We’re reforming maritime law to stop firms exploiting legal loopholes and protect workers’ rights”.
Days after the mass sacking, it emerged that the ferry firm had replaced its former staff with foreign agency workers paid less than UK minimum wage.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “In response to P&O Ferries’ unacceptable behaviour, Border Force has terminated its agreement with P&O to provide contingency travel services to juxtaposed ports with immediate effect.”
Juxtaposed ports are UK border controls set up in Calais, Dunkirk, and some railway stations in France and Belgium, where goods and passengers are checked ahead of travel.
The contract with P&O Ferries’ would have transported border staff to northern France if there was a problem at the Channel Tunnel.
The Department for Transport said it had concluded a review of its links with P&O Ferries – resulting in its only contract identified with the firm being wound up.
The company’s boss said in a BBC interview that he was “incredibly sorry” for the impact felt by hundreds of sacked staff.
Peter Hebblethwaite insisted that the decision was “the route we only deemed possible”.
The sackings in March prompted outrage and led to calls for Mr Hebblethwaite to resign after staff were shown a video message on board telling them that it would be their last day working with the firm.
The Insolvency Service has now launched criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances around the redundancies.
P&O services were suspended after the mass sackings and several of the company’s vessels failed safety inspections before being cleared to resume operating.
The reduced ferry capacity contributed to long lorry queues building up around Dover before Easter, with services resuming earlier this month.
