Scots ministers to raise safety concerns over P&O ships after axing 800 staff

Unions have raised concerns over the "exploitative practice" as they told of the low payments, saying they were expected to work huge 12-hour shifts for eight weeks at a time.

Safety concerns have been further fuelled by a four-month-old study emerged from the University of Cardiff linking seafarer fatigue to safety on ships.

Studying over 2,000 participants, the research showed seafarers were affected by poor quality sleep, long working hours, high job demands and high stress. Other important factors included numbers of port visits and social isolation.

The research headed by Professor Andrew Smith found reporting systems wereinadequately designed to record factors relevant to fatigue, and excessive working hours are often hidden by "falsified audit".

Labour West Scotland MSP Katy Clark said action was required over safety on the P&O ships in the light of the report.

She has asked Scottish transport minister Jenny Gilruth: "Given the new crew will be doing even longer shifts, and as much as a seven day week for a continuous eight weeks, will she ask for an urgent meeting with the safety regulator, the Maritime Coastguard Agency."

Ms Gilruth said: "I am absolutely committed to raising some of the safety concerns concerns that she's raised today. She will recognise some of the challenges we face here as a government in terms of employment law being reserved, but nonetheless, I think it's important that we work with the UK Government on this moving forwards and P&O workers absolutely deserve to know that the UK Government is leaving no stone unturned.

"With regard to safety concerns, and any undercutting, for example of staff's terms and conditions then that absolutely is something that I will seek to take forward to ensure that fair work practices were adopted by P&O."

P&O say they are compensating all 800 Jersey-contracted staff for lack of notice with enhanced severance packages and it is understood they have a deadline of Thursday to accept or reject them.

It has denied that their actions have put the safety of ships at risk and says wage figures cited were wholly inaccurate although could not say what they are actually being paid.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said P&O Ferries vessels will be blocked from sailing if they fail safety checks.

He said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been instructed to inspect the company’s ferries prior to them being able to re-enter service to ensure the new crews proposed for them are “safe and properly trained”.

The minimum wage in the UK for people aged 23 and above is £8.91 per hour.

MPs voted 211 votes to zero, majority 211, to back a Labour motion condemning the decision of P&O Ferries to sack staff and demanding their immediate reinstatement.

The non-binding motion also called on the Government to suspend the contracts and licences of P&O owners, Dubai-based DP World and to urgently bring forward legislation to outlaw fire and rehire.

Conservative MPs did not take part in the vote.

Meanwhile Frances O'Grady, head of the Trades Union Congress, has said the way 800 staff have been treated was "illegal" and "one of the most shameful incidents in British industrial relations".

General secretaries from the TUC and more than thirty affiliate unions including RMT, Nautilus, Unite, Unison and GMB have written to Kwasi Kwarteng, calling on the government to strengthen employment legislation and make sure the P&O scandal is never allowed to happen again.

In addition to an employment bill to strengthen protections for workers, the general secretaries call on government to demand the immediate reinstatement of all sacked P&O staff with no loss of pay.

They say it is vital “the government now takes all steps without delay to ensure that these workers are reinstated and bring forward emergency legislation if that is required” - and demand the suspension of “any government support for the company or its parent, DP World, to secure this.”

"The government could suspend their licences and tell them unless they reinstate those workers, then they are not welcome in Britain," said Mr O'Grady.

"We need an employment bill that strengthens workers rights but also respects union rights.

"This was a company that did not consult with unions as they are required to do by law.

"The government has got to come down on them like a tonne of bricks and make it clear that no employer can get away with treating workers in this way."

A spokesman for P&O said safety was the utmost priority and the new crewing management model was used by many competitors.

"They have recruited high-quality experienced seafarers, who will now familiarise themselves with the ships, going through all mandatory training requirements set out by our regulators," he said.

The 800 workers were fired with no notice through a view message - with reports some staff were removed from ships in handcuffs.

In the UK, when 100 or more employees are proposed to be made dismissed, a 45-day consultation has to take place and collective redundancy rules apply and the business secretary has to be notified.

A failure to comply is a criminal liability.

P&O, which has received over £50m in UK government contracts and subsidies in two years suspended its services on Thursday before axing the staff.

Services between Cairnryan to Larne, Dover to Calais, Dublin to Liverpool and Hull to Rotterdam were to be out of action for between seven and 10 days.

P&O attributed the move to £100 million of losses built up during the pandemic, although DP World, reported record profits this month of £2.9bn.