People in Liverpool are being urged to boycott a 'scab' P&O ferry due to set sail from the city.
P&O Ferries sparked national outrage this week when they suddenly dismissed 800 sailing staff without any consultation and with agency staff lined up to take their positions. The firm's boats were pulled from service on Thursday as the shock announcement was made. Yesterday saw huge protests take place in Liverpool, Hull and Dover.
One of the company's suspended routes is between Liverpool and Dublin and a ferry has been docked at the Port of Liverpool since the dramatic announcement this week. But the Nautilus union has now shared a letter from P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite, suggesting the route will imminently resume.
READ MORE: P&O Ferries break silence with lengthy statement after 800 workers axed
The letter, believed to have been issued to staff yesterday, states: "Our focus now is getting our ships back to service. Our ships will remain in port for the time being, as our new IFM seafarers get fully up to speed so we can return our vessels to service safely and securely. We're anticipating the disruption to be relatively short-lived and I'm pleased to say the Norbank will be back in service from tomorrow, sailing on the Liverpool-Dublin route."
Sharing the letter, Nautilus tweeted: "P&O CEO Peter Hebblethwaite reckons the Liverpool-Dublin route will restart today. Nautilus demands to know how the vessels can run with agency crew unfamiliar with the ship? The government must urgently inspect the vessel and make its report public."
The post was also shared by Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, who urged people to boycott the vessel and the company. Mr Byrne tweeted: "I'm sure the good folk of Liverpool and Dublin will boycott this scab vessel if it restarts today. A huge test for this government as well, deeds not words please."
P&O Ferries released a lengthy statement yesterday in response to the fury provoked by their decision to sack nearly a quarter of their staff via a video message on Thursday. The firm stated that it was a 'difficult decision' to make.
A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: "We know that for our staff this redundancy came without warning or prior consultation, and we fully understand that this has caused distress for them and their families. We took this difficult decision as a last resort and only after full consideration of all other options but, ultimately, we concluded that the business wouldn’t survive without fundamentally changed crewing arrangements, which in turn would inevitably result in redundancies.
"We also took the view, in good faith, that reaching agreement on the way forward would be impossible and against this background, that the process itself would be highly disruptive, not just for the business but for UK trade and tourism. We have offered enhanced severance terms to those affected to properly and promptly compensate them for the lack of warning and consultation."
