Downing Street has warned PandO Ferries that there could be "ramifications" over its decision to sack some 800 seafarers. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the UK Government was looking to see if the company's actions broke the relevant rules.
"We are looking very closely at the actions that this company has taken to see whether they acted within the rules," the spokesman said.
"Once we have concluded that, we will decide what the ramifications are. Obviously there are a lot of valid questions in relation to existing contracts, etc.
"We are working through exactly the detail of what action the company took. Once we have come to that conclusion, we will set out any further steps."
Mirror Online reports that the billionaires behind the troubled ferry giant received £270million in dividends in the same year it claimed £10million in taxpayer cash to pay staff on furlough.
The company came under scrutiny on Thursday after suspending all ships and ordering crew and passengers off ferries at ports across the UK as 800 employees were sacked on a zoom call.
Ministers branded the ferry operator 'disgusting' and 'appalling' in the wake of the announcement, as it emerged cheaper agency staff will replace their roles in a huge cost-cutting drive amid a worsening cost of living crisis.
The ferry operator was bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019. Its chief executive is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem - whose firm reported a £683million profit last year and soaring revenues.
The firm, which carried 10 million passengers a year before the pandemic, has now cancelled sailings 'for the next few days'.
It insisted the decision to cut jobs was 'very difficult but necessary' as it was 'not a viable business' in its current state.
The company, which told staff it had lost £200 million in the last two years, is now facing calls to reimburse the £10 million it received in furlough cash back to the UK Government amid widespread condemnation of how the redundancies were delivered.
DP World was criticised for paying a £270 million dividend to shareholders at the end of April 2020 while PandO Ferries cut around 1,100 jobs as travel collapsed following the pandemic.
Karl Turner, MP for East Hull, said PandO Ferries had received £10 million from the UK Government for furloughing 1,100 members of staff during the coronavirus pandemic, and demanded that the British taxpayer be reimbursed.
Speaking to LBC, he said: “All of that money - that £10 million for furlough in the pandemic - should be clawed back.
“Any money that the British taxpayer provided to that business should be taken back from them and the Government should be saying to the company 'get round the table with the unions and negotiate some sort of deal'.
“We cannot have a situation like this whereby businesses can behave like this with British workers.”
Hundreds of seafarers in Dover, Hull and Northern Ireland are now protesting against the decision.
On Thursday, some refused to disembark, prompting 'security in balaclavas' to escort them off the promises.
Unions have also threatened legal action and lawyers have suggested workers could bring unfair dismissal claims.
A letter addressed to transport secretary Grant Shapps and signed by Mr Turner and his fellow Hull MPs Emma Hardy and Dame Diana Johnson on Thursday, said: “This shocking move has been made without warning, notice or consultation in a deliberate attempt to undercut the wages and conditions of British seafarers.
“This is despite PandO Ferries' owners, Dubai-based DP World, having received millions of pounds in taxpayer support during the pandemic who [...] received over £10million through the furlough scheme, and requested a £150m bailout from Government, despite DP World paying out £250million to shareholders.
“We cannot allow a dangerous precedent to be set, all the more so on transport routes which are strategically vital to the UK.”
Just hours after the company made the announcement on Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon said she had spoken with its chief executive and had “made clear my utter disgust at this appalling treatment of its workers”.
The First Minister posted on Twitter: "I made clear that @scotgov stands with these workers and will do everything possible to ensure fair treatment for them."
PandO Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, operates four routes:
- Dover to Calais
- Hull to Rotterdam
- Liverpool to Dublin
- Cairnryan to Larne
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