P&O's decision to dismiss 800 employees could make it seem like it is "fair game" to layoff staff in such a fashion an Irish senior trade union official has warned.
The move by P&O Ferries was "a wake-up call" for Government, the assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Owen Reidy said.
Mr Reidy said it shows how important workers rights is, but predicted the reputational damage to the ferry company from public backlash to the decision might deter others from doing something similar with staff.
A number of protest have taken place in the UK and Northern Ireland since P&O Ferries fired 800 seafarers.
The company, bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, said it has suspended sailings “for the next few days”.
Workers on board ships were instructed by unions not to leave. Coaches carrying agency workers hired to replace them are parked near ships at ports.
There were also reports in British media, that balaclava-clad security teams were sent on to ferries to remove the sacked staff.
Speaking to BreakingNews.ie Mr Reidy said: "I have even seen video footage of security officers on one of the ships, I suppose I am just surprised by the brutalness of the companies approach."
At least 60 employees who lost their jobs when P&O Ferries sacked them on Thursday are from Ireland, their trade union has stated. Maritime union, Nautilus International, estimated that 25 workers from the Republic and 35 from the North are among the 800 who were dismissed without notice on Thursday.
He likened to the situation to Irish Ferries laying off 140 staff members back in 2004 after the company decided to outsource their crew on its MV Normandy service between Rosslare and France.
I will be going to tomorrow’s rally in Larne at 12 noon to show my support and the support of the entire TUM @NIC_ICTU @irishcongress for the P and O Ferries workers who are members of @RMTunion and @nautilusint who have been treated with contempt by the company.
— Owen Reidy (@owenreidy) March 17, 2022
"While the scale is not the same, the approach is very similar. Get rid of the indigenous staff on board and replace them with much cheaper labour," he said.
With strikes taking place Dover, Liverpool, Hull and Larne over P&O's decision, he said those who are members of trade union may have legal recourse after being let go so suddenly.
"They would have had collective agreements in place and there are also labour laws in both Britain and Ireland which deals with collective redundancies."
He said that when redundancies involve substantial number of staff, consultations are required, often lasting over three weeks or more.
He also questioned the legality of the company's move. "The idea of a redundancy means the job is no longer there but in this instance the workers are just being replaced.
"It's not as if this came about after six months of negotiations, but this was just dropped on them. We are now calling the British Government to intervene and to stop it from happening," he said.
He said the P&O dispute is a reminder that in the 21st century we need robust worker's rights. "If we want to have an economy that works for everyone and not a cowboy economy, we need worker's rights that are robust and fair."
