British government wants P&O shipping company to re-recruit redundant employees | Abroad

On March 17, P&O Ferries, which operates ferries between Great Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe, decided to lay off 800 crew members in one fell swoop. The company said it was facing such financial difficulties that it had no other choice. P&O Ferries already had cheaper foreign replacement workers ready, but they could not start yet. Ferry traffic has been halted since the announcement, the round of layoffs caused massive political outrage.

The British Transport Secretary, joined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has asked for the resignation of P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite. On Monday, he was asked by the government to re-engage the hundreds of redundant staff members, on their former pay and working conditions. Normally, the dismissed employees would have until March 31 to take up a severance package, but the conservative minister Shapps wants the company to drop that deadline.

Later this week, the British government plans to present a package of measures to parliament, including a minimum wage for crew members of ferry companies sailing to Great Britain. The minimum wage is £8.91 per hour (10.62 euros), according to the British channel BBC, while the shipping company is only willing to pay £5.50 per hour (6.56 euros) to the new crew members.

P&O ferry traffic is still at a standstill, between Dover and Calais will be sailed again from 1 April at the earliest, it said on Monday. The Easter holidays will start on Saturday and it is hoped to be able to transport passengers again by then.

P&O Ferries is owned by DP World of the United Arab Emirates. The shipping company still employs about 2,200 people.