UK Home Office Severs Border Force Contract With P&O Ferries Following Firing Scandal
Ministers in the UK have cancelled a contract with P&O Ferries after the ferry company sacked almost 800 seafarers without notice back in March.
The Home Office announced that the Border Force agency’s agreement with P&O would come to an end.
“In response to P&O Ferries’ unacceptable behaviour, Border Force has terminated its agreement with P&O to provide contingency travel services to juxtaposed ports with immediate effect,” a Home Office spokesperson said.
In a tweet, transport secretary Grant Shapps said, “We’ve terminated UK Border Force’s one-of-a-kind agreement with the company […] We’re reforming maritime law to stop firms exploiting legal loopholes and protect workers’ rights.”
P&O Ferries sacked 786 of its workers without notice in March to replace them with cheaper agency workers. The move has been heavily criticised by politicians and the public alike.
P&O has since admitted to breaking UK employment law. “I completely threw our hands up, my hands up, that we did choose not to consult,” CEO Peter Hebblethwaite said.
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