P&O Ferries set to restart Liverpool Dublin sailings on Saturday

over 3 years in The Irish Times

The P&O Ferries ferry between Liverpool and Dublin is set to sail on Saturday despite calls for a boycott of the company.
P&O Ferries sacked 800 UK-based seafarers by conference call on Thursday and told them their employment had been immediately terminated.
They are being replaced by agency staff.
The decision has caused outrage among unions and politicians in the UK and there have been calls for the boycott of the ferry company.
According to the maritime union, Nautilus International, the Norbank, which sails between Dublin and Liverpool will resume service on Saturday.
It is due to sail from Liverpool at 9pm and arrive in Dublin at 5am on Sunday.
The union states that it has seen an internal communication from P&O chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite which stated: “I’m pleased to say the Norbank will be back in service from tomorrow [Saturday] sailing on the Liverpool-Dublin route.
“Our focus now is getting our ships back to service. We’re anticipating the disruption to be relatively short-lived.”
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.
It has 2,200 employees remaining in the UK and began operating ferries in the 1960s.
In a letter to staff Mr Hebblethwaite said P&O Ferries was losing €100 million a year and had to change its business model.
The Norbank is a Dutch-flagged vessel crewed by Dutch officers and Filipino crew.
Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson expressed the union’s anger at this move by the company, and warned there was a clear threat to public safety posed by agency crew.
“Clearly, we are outraged by this suggestion. We call on the public to boycott P&O Ferries and to not travel with this shameful business,” he said.
“We ask the government to act in support of loyal UK seafarers, and we demand to know how its vessels can run with agency crew who are unfamiliar with the vessel.”
His union tweeted: “P&O chief executive 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.”
Liverpool West Derby MP Ian 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.”

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