P&O Ferries……. disgusting!

[Gingernuts]

Just read an article on an itv news feed that P&O are STILL paying their crew less than £5 an hour!!!! This after sacking 800 of their uk based crew.
We should boycott P&O

 

[eddie]

I'm far from sure they do have a choice
Employment in shipping below officer level is an exploitative industry worldwide.

Change job then

Quite simple

 

[Tombola]

The board and lodgings being on the ship suits the employer more than it suits the employee. They are their beck and call.

And I'm pretty sure they won't be in 'commodore class' cabins.

Iv eowrked on cruise ships, and my berth was under the water line,, propeller noise was lovely, when id finished my 10 or 12 or even 16 hours shifts (never forced always paid overtime or shifts in leiu..

gotta be honest, its a piece of cake compared to lots of jobs, and the fun times roll. Met all sort from all round the world, Id do it again tomorrow

 

[Tombola]

Change job then

Quite simple

or try harder at school etc to get a trade so you dont need that job

 

[Tombola]

You wanna try doing the round the world on the QE2 (II)
jesus, it was tough but great, "crossing the line" in the mauratania grill.....and tips $$$ from the yanks, brits....ermmmm. not so much

boo hoo hoo , poor P&O staff my arse, they got it easy these days.

could be worse,....could have been on the titanic

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[JRT]

Oh dear.....

 

[scotjimland]

I certainly won't use them .. they are the cotton mill owners of the 21st century .. .... by their own admission .. They Broke The Law !!

The cross-Channel ferry operator fired 786 British crew on 17 March 2022 in order to replace them with low-paid agency staff. Although the firm admitted to breaking the law, it has continued to operate without sanction while undercutting rival operators on labour costs.

Nothing has been done to stop repeat of P&O Ferries scandal, unions say

Despite UK government outrage the ‘legal loopholes remain and operator has been let off the hook’, says joint statement

www.theguardian.com

 

[Gingernuts]

Just reported in the Guardian:
The law has changed in France today after they found out P&O crews were working dangerous hours without breaks on uk to Europe ferries on less than £5 an hour!
The max days they are now allowed to work without a break is 14days followed by 14 days off and the minimum wage to be upped to over £9 an hour under legislation to stop the exploitation of seafarers!

 

[chaser]

The tunnel is going to be overrun.

 

[DDJC]

The tunnel is going to be overrun.

Hope not. I only use the tunnel to cross over.

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[Ralphey]

Good for you!

Whether you like their methods or not, your choice, to me they employ a lot of people who are probably very glad to have a job.

If we want to get all morally puritanical about it we shouldn't be using or benefiting from anything made outside Europe as no doubt someone has been exploited or some some natural resource abused!

I could pretend I care, but I really don't so long as they provide a safe, punctual reliable service and are cheap I will use them!

Olé

 

[Blaydon]

Hi folks. We use Irish Ferries. I am aware they did the same trick years ago, but we find Irish Ferries cheaper, less crowded than P and O.
We switched when P&O sacked their workers, but to be honest we were getting Fed up with them already.
We won’t use the tunnel as the boat trip is part of our holiday. Sitting in a box does not appeal. Also the tunnel is far too expensive.
I get there are options for all - if you don’t like one, go for something else.

 

[Abacist]

Ireland is in the EU - So how do Irish Ferries get away with not paying EU minimum wage like Brittany Ferries?

 

[JRT]

Ireland is in the EU - So how do Irish Ferries get away with not paying EU minimum wage like Brittany Ferries?

It depends on where the ships are 'flagged'.

Where are Irish Ferries flagged?

(This was before recent changes in the EU law).

From wiki...

 

[ShiftZZ]

And what happened to SeaFrance?

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[Wanders from Glos]

Just read an article on an itv news feed that P&O are STILL paying their crew less than £5 an hour!!!! This after sacking 800 of their uk based crew.
We should boycott P&O

Yes, we won't use them for that reason.

 

[bigtwin]

Yes, we won't use them for that reason.

Who do you use instead?

Ian

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Who do you use instead?

Ian

It varies to be honest, it depends on our plans. It's mostly the tunnel due to the Tesco Clubcard deal, and maybe a couple with BF. Others may be as bad, but I haven't found anything to suggest that is the case, whereas I know about P&O. Our main objection was the sacking of staff and rehiring, it struck us as callous. I'm not judging those that do use them, but we would rather not.

I guess it could get to the point of chasing the least worst if I knew more.

I have owned and run a number of businesses and have alway tried to abide by what I believe is morally acceptable practice. That approach has always served us well and we grew the businesses to a reasonable size. Others will have different standards, perhaps some are higher and maybe some are lower, but I think you can only do what you feel is right. That way you can sleep at night. Personally I would rather not run a business than operate it in a way that I feel shows disregard for your staff.

Why do you ask?

 

[bigtwin]

Why do you ask?

Just interested to know if your alternatives accepted higher staff costs/reduced profitability. The ones mentioned apparently do.

Ian

 

[Tombola]

P&O paid more than the required statutory redundancy payments to those it finished, then offered them all to apply again for the jobs via the agency or direct.
Some recieved £100,000 the lowest was £15,000

I get the feeling that due to media coverage, the word "sacked" means people think they got nowt....it was a redundancy situation......... but they avoided the normal notice /consultation period.
the reasons they gave for avoiding the normal notice period, and said it was a last resort were,
even more stress would be caused,
The impact it could have on the UK economy once word and rumors start
Speed of returning back to sea, and jobs to be re created.

In the end the return back to Sea was delayed anyway thanks to "militant" bell ends like Mick Lynches (RMT mob) telling staff to stay on the ships and raise the gang planks...so they cant be forced off. P&O insisted, There were no "heavy-handed tactics", as reported, there were no "balaclavas", as reported, there were no family threats...as reported.

there are plenty people who done well out of it £££££, and long term P&O would recoup the payments....but no ones like good news stories.

do I agree with what they did, no, especially given the parent company dividend payments, and the furlough scheme....but just feel the media likes to paint its own picture as ever, and then its trial by media.

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[Wanders from Glos]

Just interested to know if your alternatives accepted higher staff costs/reduced profitability. The ones mentioned apparently do.

Ian

Frankly I don’t know. They certainly charge more although that doesn’t necessarily mean they pay better. I can only react based on the information available to me.

 

[JRT]

As Brittany Ferries are 'French flagged' I would expect they are governed by French/EU law and wouldn't be able to do what P&O and others have done.

Happy to be corrected.