P and O ferries in trouble.

[Catweazle]

So will the seafarers be reinstated? Will a high court injunction be issued to stop the redundancies? Will the 90 day statutory consultation period be started as is their right under UK employment law?

I expect the workers will be paid off, it's going to end up a very expensive cost-cutting exercise.

[adam2]

P&O Ferry held in Northern Ireland as "not fit to sail" due to crew training and other concerns.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60881550

[Default0ptions]

Grauniad sorry:

P&O Ferries has last chance to rehire sacked staff, says Grant Shapps

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ant-shapps

[adam2]

A second ferry is being detained due to safety concerns.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60908750

[Stumuz2]

Let's hope it's a genuine MCA failure of a safety inspection. I get a bit queasy when (vote tarts) politicians try to use the power of the state, too retrospectively change a lawful commercial decision.
The management it seems deliberately misapplied TULCRA legislation, on a cost calculation that it would be cheaper in the end. The morality of it is bad, but has been done by other countries (RoI) and companies. P&O has to compete with morally bad countries and companies.

The pure greed of P&O ensures we get a better service/cost outcome for our pound.

Last month I flew to the Canaries for a weeks sailing between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. I flew out with that despicable Irishman Micheal O'leary. I flew 3290 nautical miles for £39.98. £19.99 each way.
I could do it because the CEO of Ryanair is a morally repugnant greedy person.

As Adam Smith said,
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest"

Using the power of the state is something that Putin does everyday. It does not end well.

[PS_RalphW]

Putin is an autocrat, chief kleptocrat in a country that was stolen by kleptocrats in the 1990s, not the leader of democracy. You may enjoy cheap travel fares for as long as your profession is not the one being reduced to the gig economy, but you may not always be so lucky.

[Stumuz2]

But isn't the gig economy the real economy?
The pilot who flew the 737. 800 was a gig economy pilot. He has his own limited company based in RoI for tax dodging reasons.

[Mark]

The pure greed of P&O ensures we get a better service/cost outcome for our pound.

Only time will tell on that....
P&O is now a toxic brand, which will take a very long time (if ever) to recover
All it will take is one safety incident that gets into the press and they're finished.

P&O CEO Peter Hebblethwaite "earns" a basic salary of £325k, not including bonuses
His plan is to replace the 800 sacked staff with agency workers earning an average of £5.50 per hour, which is less than the UK minimum wage.
Adam Smith would have been very proud of our Peter....

[Stumuz2]

Adam Smith would have been very proud of our Peter....

Take a bit of time and have a read of Adam smith's, 'Wealth of Nations'

You will agree with every bit of it. Parts of it keep recurring through the ages. His basic tenet is 'rent' or unearned income.
He postulates it is unfair and gives owners of land and property unfair advantages,
"As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce."

Land and property is the easy one. He disliked the university system for being there for the benefit of the masters (lecturers) Endowments to universities were a way to gain control of an institution that the students had to pay for, often getting useless education in return. Where have we heard that before?

One of the hallmarks of a great book of theory written over 300 hundred years ago, does it speak to us today?

Yes. Peter would have been one of Smith's good guys.

University vice chancellors, Landlords, Intellectual property rights, interest rates > 5%, or any form of rent seeking...were the bad guys.

[Mark]

P&O Ferries faces criminal probe over sackings:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60953832

P&O: Second ferry detained over safety concerns:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60908750

No ferry sailings, criminal and civil investigations by The Insolvency Service, failed safety inspections by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency....

[Mark]

P&O chaos leaves Dover GRIDLOCKED:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... miles.html

Where next for P&O ?

[adam2]

I expect a relaunching, rebranding, or transfer of the ships to a new company with a new name that sounds vaguely green, socialy responsible, and generally good.
How about "peoples eco ferry company" Paint the ships green and add a few PV modules, to generate 0.001% of the energy used. Use 0.1% recycled veg oil. Fund research into "green alternatives"

[clv101]

Bad idea to travel overseas this Easter - massive ramp up in demand, airlines, airports, ports, even Eurostar all struggling with the ramp up, the Covid paperwork and staff sickness... it all just sounds like a nightmare. I'll be gardening.

[Stumuz2]

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/bri ... -1.4838603

"P&O warned the UK government last November that a new “low-cost operator” on its Dover-Calais route was posing a serious competitive challenge to the business – a thinly-veiled reference to Irish Ferries, which began a service on the English Channel route last June.
The cheaper labour model operated by Irish Ferries allows it to take a competitive advantage over P&O on the route"

Discuss.

[Mark]

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/bri ... -1.4838603

"P&O warned the UK government last November that a new “low-cost operator” on its Dover-Calais route was posing a serious competitive challenge to the business – a thinly-veiled reference to Irish Ferries, which began a service on the English Channel route last June.
The cheaper labour model operated by Irish Ferries allows it to take a competitive advantage over P&O on the route"

Discuss.

What Irish Ferries did in 2005 was clearly wrong, but the owners got away with it for whatever reason(s)
This doesn't make right what P&O has done - as we all know, 2 wrongs don't make a right.
Stena and DFDS haven't resorted to going down this road, but I'm sure they're currently enjoying an uptick in business...

The way forward seems to be to tighten up the legislation, as promised by Grant Shapps.
We also need to await the outcome of all the criminal and civil proceedings against P&O which will no doubt make recommendations
If ferry operators use UK Ports, we could/should insist that they pay the UK minimum wage at the very least.
However, appreciate this might set a precedent for other types of shipping, such as Container Ships, Cruise Ships etc....

In hindsight, P&O would have been much better off liaising with the Trade Unions in the first place.
As required by the law.....