Nick Chaffey, Southern and South East Socialist Party
One year since 800 P&O seafarers were sacked via a 15-minute video call, RMT members organised protests in London, Dover and Hull to mark the ongoing fight to defend jobs, pay and working conditions at sea on 17 March.
A year on, the empty words of Tory condemnation from government ministers and Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, who joined initial protests in Dover, have come to nothing. Despite admitting breaking the law, P&O chiefs walk free, richer than ever as profits of £1.5 billion were announced, up 35%, with dividends of over £3 billion paid to a handful of shareholders.
Meanwhile, Elphicke and the Tory government are trying to implement new anti-trade union action to allow agency workers to break strikes and impose minimum service levels during strikes. A year ago, the P&O bosses felt confident to get away with the sackings, but now a strike wave is fighting both the government and the bosses.
The P&O sackings anniversary was shared with the 36th commemoration of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster where 193 passengers and crew died as the ship left Zeebrugge bound for Dover. Conditions for seafarers and safety for passengers come second to profit-hungry private shipping companies competing for business.
Scandalous treatment of seafarers is not limited to British waters. During the Covid pandemic, over 300,000 seafarers were stranded aboard vessels after their contracts had expired. Currently 331 seafarers are trapped on 62 ships in Ukrainian ports. Many are abandoned on board ships where owners walk away from costly repairs or unprofitable voyages. Without wages or visas, many are left aboard vessels with no food or heating. Cases are rising sharply affecting 118 ships involving 1,841 seafarers last year.
P&O parent company DP World is hugely profitable yet receives government Freeport tax breaks. Only by nationalising the ferry companies, docks and global shipping giants can passengers and workers ensure safe and affordable travel delivered by well-paid, well-trained crews, alongside global shipping planned to meet the needs of all and the environment.
