Grant Shapps calls for travel firm’s boss to resign over mass sacking of 800 seafarers

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has known as for the chief exeutive of P&O Ferries to resign over the sacking of 800 seafarers.

Peter Hebblethwaite has come under fire over the mass cull of jobs, which sparked outrage in March when employees have been fired by way of videolink and changed by workers paid below minimum wage.

Earlier this 12 months, the Insolvency Service launched “formal felony and civil investigations” towards P&O Ferries’ over the redundancies, with the Authorities placing ahead a brand new legislation to make sure employees on vessels with shut ties to the UK are paid minimal wage whereas in British waters.

Throughout hearings in Parliament, Mr Hebblethwaite shocked MPs after admitting P&O Ferries chose to break the law by not consulting unions beforehand in regards to the redundancies.

He mentioned the choice to make the redundancies was “the one choice that in our opinion we had” and was “deigned to save lots of hundreds of jobs”.

Mr Shapps informed Sky Information: “So far as P&O is worried, I’ve been completely crystal clear. I believe that their boss, the CEO, must resign.

“It’s nonetheless underneath investigation, which is completely proper to the best way that he behaved.

“We’ve modified the legislation with regard to a few of the form of element what occurred there. And we introduced ahead a nine-point plan to be sure that no ferry firm might do that once more, together with guaranteeing laws to be sure that they need to pay the minimal wage when they’re steadily in British waters.”

P&O would “need to overturn what they’ve accomplished” by legislation “very shortly”, he added.

It comes after P&O Ferries’ mum or dad firm DP World posted file first-half income of $721m (£604m) yesterday.

The Dubai-owned ports big noticed income enhance by greater than 51 per cent over the 12 months because the enterprise mentioned it had targeted on delivery cargo with increased revenue margins.

Frances O’Grady, the secretary common of the Trades Union Congress, has demanded the Authorities scraps all its contracts with DP World.

“DP World have been allowed to get away scot-free with behaving like company gangsters,” she mentioned.

“These eye-watering income have come off the again of P&O illegally sacking tons of of devoted employees. They’re an insult to widespread decency.

“Ministers ought to have stripped DP World of all their profitable public contracts and severed all industrial ties with the corporate.”

After the sackings, P&O Ferries mentioned the choice had been made to make sure the cross-channel operator’s survival, saying its losses have been “not sustainable”.