The boss of P&O Ferries has insisted he will not reverse the decision to sack nearly 800 seafarers, despite being given “one further opportunity” by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite wrote to the Cabinet minister claiming his request “ignores the situation’s fundamental and factual realities”.
Re-employing the sacked workers on their previous wages would “deliberately cause the company’s collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs”, the letter stated.
“I cannot imagine that you would wish to compel an employer to bring about its own downfall, affecting not hundreds but thousands of families.”
When P&O Ferries announced its decision to replace its crews with cheaper agency workers, it stated that the business needed to cut costs to survive as it was losing £100m a year.
The letter was in response to a letter from Shapps which stated that P&O Ferries had “one further opportunity to reverse this decision by immediately offering all 800 workers their jobs back”.
Hebblethwaite also rejected the minister’s request to delay the deadline of Thursday for sacked workers to accept redundancy offers, as more than 765 of the 786 affected people have “taken steps to accept the settlement offer”.
He wrote: “These are legally binding agreements, and crew members who have entered them will rightly expect us to comply with their terms.”
The chief executive insisted he will continue in his role despite Shapps describing his position as “untenable”.
Hebblethwaite wrote: “I am fully cognisant of the reputational cost to the P&O Ferries brand and me personally.
“That notwithstanding, I am compelled to discharge my duties for this historical company, saving the jobs of the 2,200 dedicated employees who continue working for P&O Ferries and providing for the effective operation of the trade routes upon which this country depends.”
Hebblethwaite will face the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee this afternoon, after having already sat for a Westminster committee last week.
Committee convener Dean Lockhart wrote to him the day after the sackings were announced, urging him to appear as soon as possible.
He wrote: “The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee is extremely concerned about yesterday’s news that around 800 of P&O’s staff have been sacked, reportedly with immediate effect, and that services, including the Cairnryan-Larne line, have been suspended, ruining passengers’ travel plans.
“I am writing to request an urgent update so that the committee may reflect on its immediate scrutiny in relation to this matter.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously made clear her “utter disgust” at the job cuts.
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