From what I see in the news, only the UK workers have been sacked, not the French or Dutch ones.
This is capitalism at its ugliest. To quote from the letter sent to the UK employees from the CEO of P&O:
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/u...g-800-23425666
Quote:
Today we have entered into a new partnership with International Ferry Management (IFM) who are an international crewing company, and they will be responsible for providing new crews for all those ships affected by this change. Our new teams of seafaring colleagues have already joined our ships.
Our new crew are now going through a process of intense familiarisation and training programme on our ships, run by IFM. Only when that process has happened, will we gradually return to a normal service safely and securely - upholding our P&O standards and brand.
This new crew model will reduce our crewing costs by 50% and enable us to better compete and be more responsive to our customers’ needs. It is a model that is proven to work across the industry, while still allowing us to retain service and safety levels which are central to our operations.
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https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022...king-800-staff
Quote:
Is this “fire and rehire”?
Fire and rehire is a hugely controversial method used by some companies, usually – but not always – when in dire financial straits. It involves sacking staff and then telling them they can apply for their old jobs on less favourable terms. Companies that have deployed the tactic include Weetabix, Tesco, British Airways, Heathrow and British Gas. Trade unions and the public support a ban on the practice but ministers last year blocked a bill that aimed to do just that.
The government would be “dismayed” if P&O were doing this, a No 10 spokesperson said. But what P&O is trying to do looks slightly different. Rather than rehiring staff to their old jobs, it is replacing them with agency workers and saying that sacked staff could, if they wanted, join those agencies.
“That is effectively seeking to avoid having to renegotiate terms with staff and their representatives,” said Tata.
The TUC said it was not yet clear if P&O was planning to rehire staff on inferior terms but warned it was a growing trend, with 9% of workers affected by such a scheme in the first year of the pandemic.
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Just a reminder:
(for Tory supporters of a nervous disposition, look away now)
Fire-and-rehire: Government blocks law to curb the practice
Quote:
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The government has blocked a new law to curb businesses' ability to lay staff off and take them back on different - often worse - pay and terms.
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