P&O accused of abusing Covid-19 crisis by replacing UK staff with Filipino agency crew on £4.50 an hour

P&O accused of abusing Covid-19 crisis by replacing UK staff with Filipino agency crew on £4.50 an hour
Beth Robson 29 May 2020 https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/p-o-to-replace-60-uk-workers-wit...

P&O Ferries has today been accused of blatantly abusing the Covid-19 crisis by replacing UK seafarers with agency crew from the Philippines for £4.50 per hour.

The Dover based company is in the grip of a financial crisis and is making 1,100 people redundant from across the business.

RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said the replacement of UK crew with foreign workers applies to the Pride of Hull, which operates from Hull to Zeebrugge.

It is believed there are no plans to do the same with crew serving the Dover to Calais route which will be hardest hit with an expected 614 ratings facing redundancy.

In a press statement, Mr Cash said: “Rather than working with the unions to adjust the furlough scheme, P&O is replacing 60 UK ratings on the Pride of Hull with 57 agency crew from the Philippines who are paid £4.50 per hour.

"This is a blatant abuse of the current crisis."

The furloughing of staff comes under the government's Jobs Retention Scheme initiated to tackle the economic threat to businesses from the coronavirus lockdown and in the ferry industry's case, the travel ban.

P&O Ferries stood down 1,100 staff in March, followed by 300 more in April when it laid up three ships.