Immediate and long-term Government policymaking must be informed
and stimulated by last week’s joint evidence session on the
recent P&O sackings, urge the Chairs of the Transport and
BEIS Committees.
In a joint letter to the Transport and BEIS Secretaries of State,
and say the Departments must
work collaboratively to address some of the ‘appalling’ evidence
laid out last week.
The joint oral evidence session examined matters of ‘deep public
concern’ in relation to business practices and employment law. In
their letter, the Chairs set out 10 top-line conclusions ranging
across:
- The well-being of the sacked seafarers
- Addressing the uncertainty and application of related
employment and maritime law
- The powers of the Maritime and Coastal Agency and Insolvency
Service
- Actions to update employment law and key protections for
workers
- Potential action against P&O Ferries and other potential
law-breaking companies.
The Chairs jointly called for the resignation of the Chief
Executive, Peter Hebblethwaite.
A copy of the letter is attached for your information. The
deadline for a response from Government is April 4, 2022.
Responses from P&O to evidence requests
The Committees are also publishing correspondence from P&O
relating to requests made during the evidence session.
These are:
- Letters notifying the relevant authorities in Cyprus, Bahamas
and Bermuda of P&O’s proposed actions (Q100-106 in
the P&O/DP World
transcript)
- The risk assessment completed by P&O in relation to Chris
Loder’s request (Q185 in the P&O/DP World
transcript)
