Rallies in UK ports as calls grow for P&O Ferries chief to resign

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Hundreds of people protested at ports on Saturday in a “fight for justice” after nearly 800 seafarers were expelled without warning earlier this month.

Demonstrations were held in Liverpool, Dover and Hull, as calls continued for the resignation of the head of P&O Ferries.

Crowds marched with placards and banners, chanting “P&O, what a shame.”

The RMT union vowed “more protests, more campaigns, more political pressure” in the coming days.

The rallies came when a ship operated by the ferry company was impounded for being “unseaworthy”.

The European Coast Guard and Marine Agency (MCA) said the European ship Causeway is being held in the port of Larne in Northern Ireland due to a “failure to identify the crew, document the vessels and train the crew”.

Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said he would not compromise the safety of P&O vessels and insisted the company could not rush to train inexperienced people.

In a move that sparked widespread outrage, the company laid off hundreds of sailors earlier this month and plans to replace them with low-paid agency employees.

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency said: “We can confirm that the European Bridge has been discontinued at Larne.

“He was arrested over a failure to know the crew, document the ships and train the crew.

The ship will be held until P&O Ferries resolves all of these issues. Only then will it be re-examined.”

The MCA said there were no passengers or cargo on board the European Causeway when it was detained.

The ships are being held on the grounds of safety concerns and being prevented from sailing.

A P&O Ferries spokesperson said: “The European corridor has undergone an examination by the MCA in Larne, as it was deemed not sufficiently ready for commissioning.

“We will review the results, make any necessary changes, and continue to work closely with the MCA to bring the ship back into service.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Hundreds of people in Liverpool, Hull and Dover attended all protests today to support P&O workers in their fight for justice.

“There will be more protests, more campaigning, and more political pressure this week as we escalate the fight and harness public anger over the jobs massacre on our ferries.”

He said the demonstrations “show that the public is on our side in terms of P&O layoffs.”

He added, “The government should pass emergency legislation and prevent P&O from sailing with untrained and overexploited agency crews. We want to negotiate the return of 800 laid-off employees and make sure their wages and union conditions are protected.”

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) tweeted a video that they said showed P&O workers in Rotterdam refusing to load goods on a ferry bound for Hull “in solidarity with 800 seafarers illegally expelled by P&O”.

Meanwhile, Irish union workers gathered in Dublin Harbor opposite the P&O terminal to send support across the Irish Sea to P&O staff.

The rally, organized by the Cepto Union, was attended by the new leader of the Irish Labor Party, Ivana Pasek, and organizer Jim McPhee said the rally aims to “send solidarity”.

“The best thing we can do is organize a rally in Dublin Port outside of P&O to voice our concerns,” he added.

UK Labor has written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarting asking whether the government will seek to remove P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite from a director position under the Board of Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

In a letter, the party accused the government of “sitting on its hands” rather than taking action to hold P&O to account, adding that “a toothless response risks giving the green light to exploitation.”

Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haig said P&O Ferries’ “disgraceful misconduct has destroyed livelihoods” and called for fired workers to be reinstated and Mr Hebblethwaite “banned” from the manager position for his role in the crisis.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed Shapps Hepplethwaite’s call to resign.

In Larne, Central and Eastern Antrim Local Council Mayor William McCogee said they would support the immediate reinstatement of staff, while East Antrim MLA Stuart Dixon welcomed the ferry seizure as a security measure.

Additional reports from the Syndicate of Journalists

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