P&O Ferries: Port of Liverpool protest marks redundancy deadline

Demonstrators campaigning against P&O Ferries' decision to sack 800 workers have marked the deadline for signing redundancy offers with a protest.

The RMT union, who organised the demonstration at the Port of Liverpool, said members were "being held hostage" over the sackings on 17 March.

The deadline for workers to sign redundancy and non-disclosure agreements ends at midnight.

P&O Ferries has been approached for comment.

The operator prompted outrage when it announced that it would be replacing staff immediately with agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.

P&O Ferries gave staff a deadline of 31 March to respond to redundancy offers and it is understood that over half of the sacked workers - 430 people in total - have already accepted their redundancy payments.

Protests have previously been held at ports including Dover, Hull and Liverpool.

Sous-chef John Lansdown, from Dover, worked on the Pride of Canterbury and said he had been offered about £30,000 from the operator, but he "would not be bullied" into signing anything.

"It is not about the money," he said.

"I have chosen to turn it down, because I need to keep speaking about the wrongs that have been done, and to keep campaigning about it."

He said the situation was the "end of an era... but I do this on behalf of all my shipmates who got dismissed in the most unfair of ways".

The RMT's Darren Ireland told BBC Radio Merseyside it was a "sad day" for the maritime industry.

He said the operator was a "ruthless gangster employer" and the workers were "being held hostage" over the redundancy process.

He also said it was "unacceptable" the government had not saved the worker's jobs, adding that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps "needs to step up his game in order to get legislation in place".

On Wednesday, Mr Shapps said P&O would be forced to "fundamentally rethink their decision".

He also set out a series of measures in response to the redundancies, which included creating "minimum wage corridors" on ferry routes between the UK and other countries.

P&O Ferries have previously said sacking workers was not just about saving money on wages, but also about "removing job duplication and the benefits we will see from increased flexibility".

The firm said it would welcome the minimum wage rising for all seafaring workers, because it would create "a level playing field when it comes to pay and conditions on British ferry routes".

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