Devastated seafarers today urged transport chief Grant Shapps to quit after P&O escaped legal action over sacking 800 of them.
News of the legal let-off came after the ferry firm’s parent company, DP World, recorded a staggering 52% rise in its profits to £600million in just six months. That sparked fury among unions and the staff who lost everything when they were given the boot by video message.
Sous chef John Lansdown, sacked from the Pride of Canterbury, said: “ Grant Shapps should resign. He’s been spineless.
“He could have withdrawn their operating licence but he didn’t. The fact the Government hasn’tt intervened has given companies the green light to do something like this again.
“They marched in, sacked us all and got away with it.”
John, 40, added: “The Government values DP World’s investment in the UK higher than 800 livelihoods. I’m devastated.”
The RMT Union’s Dover branch secretary Lee Davison also called on Mr Shapps to go and branded the failure to prosecute an “absolute disgrace”.
The Tories vowed to act after P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite admitted it broke laws when it laid off the 800 in March. They earned an average £36,000 a year but were replaced with agency staff on as little as £3.94 an hour.
He told MPs: “There’s absolutely no doubt we were required to consult with the unions. We chose not to do that.” But yesterday the Insolvency Service said its probe found that, because of Maritime employment laws, there are no grounds for a criminal case. The service is still conducting a civil investigation.
Labour ’s Karl Turner accused the Tories of launching a “sham” probe that gave “false hope” to seafarers. He said: “Asking the Insolvency Service to investigate, then pretending to be disappointed when they choose to do nothing is an insult.
“They’d have known perfectly well... P&O could get away with these gross sackings.”
The Government said it was “very disappointing” P&O will not face criminal proceedings, adding it “important the civil investigation runs its course”.
The Department for Transport said: "We have announced a package of measures to improve seafarer pay and welfare. This includes the Seafarers’ Wages Bill which will ensure that seafarers working on vessels that regularly use UK ports are paid at least an equivalent rate to the National Minimum Wage whilst in the UK’s territorial waters.
"To ensure that seafarers are protected immediately, the Transport Secretary wrote to all UK ports instructing them to challenge any operator of regular ferry services who does not pay their workers national minimum wage."
