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The story that seems to be emerging on Twitter is that P & O plan to make all their staff redundant & replace them with agency labour.
Why dock all the ships? Guess there is a real threat that the crew will effectively hijack the ships & refuse to leave maybe?
Proper pot-boiler this.
Lots of Twitter noise on this...
https://twitter.com/search?q="P&O Ferries"&src=trend_click&pt=1504406398540648448&vertical=trends
P & O Ferries sunk by Brexit
As such you cannot make somebody redundant and then hire somebody else to do the same job in the same capacity.
I know that the TUPE regs used to cover some of this but as I haven't been involved with Trade Unions for a while the parameters could well have shifted.
In order to be able to do this the old company would have to cease to exist losing all contracts, routes, assets and staff.
A new company would then have to be started from scratch whereupon they would be able to fill staffing roles as they see fit.
But you can't just make all your staff redundant and then bring in people to do the same job because that's NOT redundancy.
"Next few hours" strikes me as somewhat optimistic.
One of the key questions is whether UK Law applies, and then (if it does) whether there is an SOSR (Some Other Substantial Reason) exemption.
The various owners of P & O have, over the years, sporadically tried to assert that these contracts are International contracts of Employment, rather than UK ones. With little or no success. However, we are no longer in the EU-thus it is not automatic that services between the UK and EU would have either UK or EU contracts. Although it seems likely that UK contracts currently are in place.
The owners of P & O are a thoroughly lovely bunch called DP World. The DP stands for Dubai Ports. They also own loads of ports throughout the World, including London Gateway/Southampton. Their main rivals are Hutchison Whampoa, a Far Eastern conglomerate that own Felixstowe/Harwich and various others.
DP will claim that this measure is the only way the Company (P & O) can survive. I am sure there are many people who will take issue with that.
1 question I would love to know:-did the Government become aware of this on its latest begging bowl trip to the Middle East?
If DP are unwilling to provide a UK service, then we need to consider whether to nationalise it.
@Essexphil
Could be fun times ahead if the the dockers at London Gateway &/or Southampton walk out in sympathy, which I would assume is a real possibility.
This story could get real messy.
What if the crews of the Ferries refuse to leave the ferries? Again, they well might.
The crews of the ferries will almost certainly seek to remain on board-as their employer is trying to enforce a lock-out. Which is the employer's version of Strike action.
This is going to get very messy. Unless, of course, a secret deal has already been struck between DP and our government.
You know the sort of thing-money paid to Government to take over some contracts. About half the money filtering down to the workers. That sort of thing. We shall see.
DP World appear to have decided UK Law is no longer relevant to DP World in their UK operations.
Either they know something I do not, or their current UK legal advisers will be about to part company with them.
That would perhaps explain why P & O ordered all the ferries to dock BEFORE the announcement. Effectively, all the passengers/vehicles would have become hostages if the announcement was made whilst on the high seas.
Energy crisis, East/West tensions, trouble at the docks. All we need now are braziers and donkey jackets.
All together now "I was a miner, I was a docker, I was a railway worker between the wars"
Sorry just getting all misty and nostalgic.
There are processes to undertake before redundancies/dismissals of this sort. Lots of them. Involving an open discussion. Collective consultation. Notify the RPS (Redundancy Payments Service) at least 45 days before the consultation starts where more than 100 proposed redundancies. And the consultation should last at least 45 days.
https://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/redundancy-consultations
They will have known about this for months. And not told their workers.
Barbarians.
On a serious note do you see this as an opportunity for Government to flex some post Brexit muscle and stand firm by implementing UK law, knowing that it can't be undermined by the EU.
Or do you think it will posture and then crumble due to external considerations such as alternative oil supplies and the like.
One Iron Lady proved merciless at crushing Unions and Industry perhaps now it's time for the powers to stand behind and with them against an outside force of this nature.
One part of this will be taken out of the Government's hands. There are going to be some big Employment Tribunal claims here. More a question of what sort of fines/enforcement action the UK will take on top of that. And it should cost this hapless bunch £Millions
It may have been that Unions had too much power in the 70s/80s. But the pendulum has swung too far the other way now. We really need to show some backbone.
PS-excellent modern version of Between the Wars by a modern folk band by the name of The Young'uns. Still true today-and they can sing better than the Big nosed Boy from Barking
Although I prefer "Summarily dismissed without cause or proper procedure..."
Although in saying that at least when the French have a grievance they all tend to support each other. Farmers, Truckers, Port workers, ATC etc etc.
"a few hours" has now become "a few days".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60779001