P&O agency workers sacked for returning from shore over alcohol limit
P&O Ferries has admitted that seven agency employed seafarers were sacked after returning from shore over the alcohol limit.
The company said the workers were found to be in breach of their strict guidelines on alcohol consumption and were "dismissed with immediate effect".
The ferry firm has come under fire after sacking more than 800 of its workers on March 17, replacing them with cheaper agency workers.
A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: “We can confirm that seven agency-employed seafarers who returned from shore were found to be in breach of our strict guidelines on alcohol consumption and have been dismissed with immediate effect.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority and we continue to operate a zero tolerance policy towards drinking whilst on duty.”
The revelation comes as a new report released today revealed more than two dozen failures on a P&O Ferries vessel, including an inability to safely deploy lifeboats or life rafts.
Inspectors for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) found the “launching arrangements for survival craft” on European Causeway were “not as required”.
P&O Ferries has accused the MCA of carrying out inspections with "an unprecedented level of rigour" but the agency said it works "in exactly the same robust way" for every ship.
A total of eight P&O Ferries vessels will be probed by the MCA following the mass sackings.
It previously cleared P&O Ferries’ Pride of Hull and European Causeway vessels, which are operating on the Hull-Rotterdam and Larne-Cairnryan routes respectively.
More than 100 protestors have gathered in Dover today (Tuesday 19 April) to highlight what they say are a number of safety issues on P&O vessels.
Organised by the RMT union, the demonstration is part of the union's campaign to hold the company to account for the mass sackings.
Darren Procter says workers would be willing to stay with the company if working conditions were of an acceptable standard
Darren Procter, national secretary of the RMT said, "The message of this protest today, is first and foremost those vessels have still not sailed after a month, even though P&O said they would be sailing after a couple of days.
"Those vessels are not safe. Two inspections of one of the vessels have found a number of deficiencies, and we believe those vessels are not fit to sail on the high seas.
"Until P&O are in a position to sail them safely, with decent terms and conditions, the vessels should continue to be boycotted by haulage companies, and by passengers who are considering using these vessels to go on holiday.
Outlining some of the RMT's main safety concerns, Mr Procter said, "Safety is not determined by a vessel.
"Safety is determined by the seafarers onboard, the familiarisation of a particular vessel, and of the equipment.
"If you're bringing in seafarers of up to fourteen different nationalities, who are not familiar with this particular sector, vessel or crossing, then it's a recipe for disaster.
"Until we have got familiarised seafarers onboard, on decent rates of pay, and that are well rested, there's going to be fatalities and a danger to other sea users."
In a statement A spokesman for P&O Ferries said: "It is clear that inspections of our vessels have reached an unprecedented level of rigour.
"We welcome this additional scrutiny and would reiterate that the safety of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority.
"Any suggestion that it is being compromised in any way is categorically false and we look forward to all of our ships welcoming tourist passengers and freight customers again as soon as all mandatory safety tests have been passed."