The British government said Wednesday that a Dubai government-owned ferry operator at the centre of a bitter U.K. labour dispute likely broke the law when it fired 786 crew members without notice to replace them with cheaper contract staff.
P&O Ferries claimed the move was legal because the staff worked on ships registered outside the U.K. The ferry operator acknowledged that the way the dismissals were carried out caused distress for workers and said it had offered “generous compensation” to those involved. Trade unions have long objected to “fire and rehire” policies that let companies fire staff members and re-employ them on worse terms. Under British labour laws, such extreme action is only meant to be done after extensive employee consultations.
The letter came in response to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s request for information amid outrage from workers and allegations that P&O violated U.K. labour laws. Kwarteng last week said it appeared the company hadn’t followed the required process for dismissing large numbers of workers and notified it that failure to do so was a criminal offence that could lead to an unlimited fine.
Crew members employed by two other subsidiaries based in France and the Netherlands weren’t fired, P&O said.
Likely broke the law?