Home Forums Chat Forum Boycott P&O Ferries!

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  • Boycott P&O Ferries!
  • 3
    finephilly
    Free Member

    A timely reminder that the CEO earns about 250x some employees. There are plenty of other operators so remember that when choosing who to sail with!

    3
    Poopscoop
    Full Member

    I agree but let’s remind people P&O cruises are a different entity though. 👍

    3
    j4mie
    Free Member

    Aren’t they the ones that fired all their staff on board and had lower paid replacements waiting to get on and replace them?

    1
    scuttler
    Full Member
    1
    bitmuddytoday
    Free Member

    Went with DFDS last year for this very reason. Sadly I’m not in charge of purchasing any ferry tickets this year.

    1
    alpin
    Free Member

    Can’t be doing with ferries given the Eurotunnel exists.

    Too many delays due to rough weather (previously travelling to the UK in the winter months) and inflexible when it comes to getting on an earlier or later ferry.

    Much easier driving off the train before the engine has cooled, straight onto the motorway, as opposed to a old start, queuing to get off the ferry and navigating through the port.

    Eurotunnel can be had for 90€ if booked early enough compared to 40€  for a night ferry. I’m not made of money and I’m not I’m generally not in a rush, but given all the negatives of a sea crossing I’ll take the train each time.

    3
    robertajobb
    Full Member

    Absolutely avoided them since their  complete shithousery behaviour to staff.

    Typically though, guess what this Gov has done about it since to prevent it happening elsewhere… Absolutely and utterly **** all. Because fundamentally they are happy to let the poor people be poorer.

    6
    somafunk
    Full Member

    My mate was one of the P&O sackings after 18 years with the company, he worked for them on the Cairnryan to Larne route as chief navigational officer but was waiting to be promoted to captain as he completed the exams a few years previously.

    He joined Maersk from school in 1989 and worked deep sea /gas ships/containers for 14 years before joining P&O due to new baby and how 4 months at sea at a time didn’t work for a relationship

    All the P&O workers were removed with the aid of security goons who followed them to their cabins to make sure they didn’t try and protest/lock themselves in and the foreign workers were waiting in buses on the dockside to replace them all, the only UK based worker now on the ferry is the captain, the captain was told that if he protested or spoke to the waiting reporters then he would be sacked on the spot and his severance/redundancy/pension rights would be affected.

    Total scum of a company and the UK government allowed itself to be shafted right up the arse regarding the workers rights and did absolutely nothing about it.

    As a weird upside financially (at least, not morally) to his sacking he is now captain of a rather large border force patrol boat with better working conditions and side benefits.

    rickmeister
    Full Member

    I’ll pick DFS every time…exception being Rotterdam hull with no alternative.

    It’s a shame as the crew on this p&o ferry are so friendly and helpful but being completely pulled over the table.

    jonnyboi
    Full Member

    Also note that Irish Ferries did a similar thing circa 2005

    7
    Edukator
    Free Member

    Ferries booked for this Summer. Brittany ferries Caen – Portsmouth and Stena Harwich – Hook of Holland.

    The tunnel would be many more hours of driving and sitting on the giant parking lot that is the M25.

    If only people had the same level of thought and conscience before buying an ICE vehicle or EV made in China.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    A timely reminder that the CEO earns about 250x some employees.

    Probably just like any other CEO who ever lived. I was surprised to hear he only earns £500k which is considerably less than a lot of CEOs. So as his industry is global his salary and employees is probably lower than you would expect in the uk.

    @edukator If only people had the same level of thought and conscience before buying an ICE vehicle or EV made in China.

    Whats wrong with Chinese EVs?

    1
    Dickyboy
    Full Member

    Whats wrong with Chinese EVs?

    Volvo, Polestar & MG parent Co (Geely) are alleged in the use of slave labour.

    https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/chrb/

    6
    Edukator
    Free Member

    The same as with anything made in China, Funkydunk:

    Social and economic dumping.

    Selling at a loss to eliminate competition – see solar panel pricing and now EVs.

    High pollution and low environmental standards that affect the whole planet.

    High coal use.

    Human rights abuses.

    Russia would have ground to a halt in Ukraine by now without Chinese supplies.

    We are selling our souls and the family china to China and every Chinese purchase is another nail in our own coffin.

    8
    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    I’ll pick DFS every time…

    Yep – always a sale on – and four years interest free credit! 🙂

    big_scot_nanny
    Full Member

    Yep – always a sale on – and four years interest free credit! 🙂

    If you read the reviews on Tripadvisor for DFDS, there is a 1/5 review stating ‘delivered the wrong sofa, will never use again, etc etc’ 😆

    I still use the P&O Hull-Rotterdam crossing a few times a year (real shame they stopped the Zebrugge one as i preferred that boat and the beach at zebrugge is awesome!), did the same thing happen to the crews on that boat?

    There are a number of familiar faces, both Greek and Malaysian/indonesian, working on the boat in the bits that i see (bars etc) and the dutch captains are the same i think before and after the dramatic restructure.

    1
    gobuchul
    Free Member

    I’m pretty sure that Carnival, P&O Cruises owner, will have a huge wage disparity.

    They have crew that spend up to 10 months at sea without a day off and rely on tips to make a decent wage.

    I know I worked for them.

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    We’re going Hull Rotterdam later this year. If you’re up north it’s the easiest way to get to Europe. Hull is 75 miles from here. Dover/Tunnel is 280 miles, Harwich is 240

    🤦‍♂️

    To offset my guilty feeling I’ll be tipping the bar staff in cash.

    a11y
    Full Member

    We’re going Hull Rotterdam later this year. If you’re up north it’s the easiest way to get to Europe. Hull is 75 miles from here. Dover/Tunnel is 280 miles, Harwich is 240

    Hull-Rotterdam for us too – but I did think twice before booking due to P&O’s previous shitty behaviour. No real alternative that works for us until some sort of Rosyth to mainland Europe crossing becomes a thing. Rosyth would be 17miles/24mins for us. Hull is 280miles/5hrs. Dover/Tunnel is 505miles/9+hrs and I can’t be doing with that again.

    real shame they stopped the Zebrugge one as i preferred that boat and the beach at zebrugge is awesome

    Yeah! Was always good to hang out on the beach at Blankenberge if early for the ferry. Preferred the Zeebrugge route/ship too.

    snotrag
    Full Member

    No other realsitic option than Hull-Rotterdam for us too. I can get the evening ferry after doing a full day at work, and be back at my desk by 9am usually on the mornng the ferry returns.

    chrishc777
    Free Member

    Yeah the CEO earning 250x the employees is not out of the ordinary. “My” CEO earns 280x my salary, and there’s people in my organisation earning half my wage

    The other stuff sounds pretty nasty though, had no idea. I’m on DFDS later this year anyway but will remember for future bookings

    1
    rickmeister
    Full Member

    I’ll pick DFS every time…
    Yep – always a sale on – and four years interest free credit!

    Sofa, so good….

    1
    IHN
    Full Member

    Probably just like any other CEO who ever lived.

    Nope, it’s a (relatively) modern thing.

    Wage ratio – Wikipedia

    intheborders
    Free Member

    A timely reminder that the CEO earns about 250x some employees. There are plenty of other operators so remember that when choosing who to sail with!

    You’ll be boycotting Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, Asda etc etc – where do you shop?

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    it’s not the 250 multiplier that I find offensive, it’s the realistic and pro-rated £5/hr the staff get paid (not the advertised rate)

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    @a11y – can you go Newcastle to Amsterdam on DFDS?

    ads678
    Full Member

    For those saying no alternative to Hull Rotterdam, there is the DFDS Amsterdam Newcastle ferry. I’ve used that before, yeah the drive back to Leeds is a bit furher than Hull, but waaaay better that the drive back from Dover/Folkstone.

    Tunnel is way more expsensive than the ferry so we’ve been getting ferries recently. We’ve used, Irish and DFDS and would rather not use P&O but the pet lounge is amazing, if others start doing that we would definitely stop using P&O. Also the new P&O ferries are electric/diesel hybrid so better for the environmet….

    I honestly would rather not use P&O but when we’re looking at all the alternatives, and we do check everything out, they just come out better. I know environmentally eurotunnel will be the best, but it’s sooo much more expensive.

    Flame me if you like, I already hate myself for using P&O sometimes, but everything is a balancing act…

    chakaping
    Full Member

    he is now captain of a rather large border force patrol boat with better working conditions and side benefits.

    Good for him.

    Does he get to keep any gear that they catch smugglers with then?

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    it’s not the 250 multiplier that I find offensive, it’s the realistic and pro-rated £5/hr the staff get paid (not the advertised rate)

    but apparently that’s inline with international industry pay rates. Global markets and all that

    1
    hot_fiat
    Full Member

    Ships on the Newcastle-Ijmuiden crossing are really old and worn. Unloading efficiency is poor as well – the car deck is dependant on the freight decks being emptied first of both drive off and unaccompanied trailers,  so an 09:30 arrival actually translates into a 10:30 disembarkation – later still if you’re on a motorbike which they hide away above the main car deck. Pretty much like P&O the entire crew apart from the officers are less than minimum wage Philipinos. New (methanol-fuelled, faster) ships are in the pipeline but not for at least 5 years.

    1
    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    …. but the hour sat on the ferry is time saved from not driving to Hull and not paying P&O.

    It is a good alternative if you’re coming down from Scotland

    ads678
    Full Member

    I dont remeber offloading being that bad when I’ve done the Amsterdam – Newcastle ferry. Outside party deck in the summer was cool!!

    a11y
    Full Member

    @a11y – can you go Newcastle to Amsterdam on DFDS?

    Done it before. Worse logistics, particularly the onward travel aspect of Amsterdam vs Rotterdam. Plus the boat was full of total drunken zoomers on their mini-cruise to Amsterdam for the day, so not as pleasant an exerience for mini-a11ys.

    jimmy
    Full Member

    Typically though, guess what this Gov has done about it since to prevent it happening elsewhere…

    In no way would I ever stand up for this government, but perhaps for balance:

    France signed a decree that would force cross-Channel operators to pay their workers the French minimum wage of at least €11.65 (£9.95) an hour. A similar UK law is expected to come into force this summer and P&O told MPs it would abide by both sets of legislation.

    Expected to come in – would you hold breath? And no doubt there’ll be loopholes.

    jhpbk
    Free Member

    While I am fully aware that P&O are a horrible company, and I do feel really sorry for anybody who works there or has worked there in the past.

    If you are looking for a ferry and the P&O option is the cheapest by a decent magin, would people really pay more just because of what they have done internally?
    Not remotely forgiving things, but with times as hard as they are now surely a majority of people would choose the cheaper price over dealing with a company who who treat the staff correctly?

    Feel like I am going to get some hate for this..

    chakaping
    Full Member

    I didn’t notice much price difference between P&O, Irish and DFDS when booking last year.

    Some people do avoid companies on principle. I won’t travel with Ryanair, so if only they serve a certain route then that’s just not an option for me.

    rickmeister
    Full Member

    Just done a price check on the DFDS Newcastle – Hamsterjam and its spendy… 1 person. motorbike return with an inside cabin is…
    GBP850.

    Booking direct with DFDS not the comparison Direct Ferries site.

    chickenman
    Full Member

    DFDS from Newcastle are vastly more expensive this year than the Hull crossing, mainly because the most basic cabin is around £250 each way. I’d rather sit in a police cell for a day then drive round London to Dover.

    The devil’s advocate view would go…

    “Tell me how the hourly rate is calculated, bearing in mind that the crew live on board the ship and probably do 16 hour shifts (there’s nowhere to go in any free time anyway) it probably represents a really good wage for people coming from the Philippines, do it for a couple of years and you’re set up for life.”

    Which is precisely why large companies get away with the inexorable slide back to Victorian employment practices.

    convert
    Full Member

    Not remotely forgiving things, but with times as hard as they are now surely a majority of people would choose the cheaper price over dealing with a company who who treat the staff correctly?

    Feel like I am going to get some hate for this..

    We all have a different moral compass and different things flip our switch. I will not eat meat because of the ethics, especially in some sectors. Others are perfectly aware of how we treat chickens in factory farms and don’t like it but still buy and eat it because its cheap/tasty/what they’ve always done.

    And yeah, written down like you have, it doesn’t sound great on you, no. But anyone that shops at Amazon (me) or drinks at Starbucks (not me) or any other company with dodgy ethics is going to struggle to condemn you without being a bit of a hypocrite. I suppose the only comment I’ll make is that you had a 3rd choice – the expensive ferry, the cheap ferry with dodgy ethics or no ferry at all and cancel the trip. Did you consider the 3rd option when you realised the 1st option was more than you could afford? Or could you have actually afforded the expensive ferry, but just didn’t want to if there was an option not to and still go? If the option disappeared (legislation made their practice illegal and their prices went up or they went out of business) would you have gone for option 1 or 3?

    I’ve read around some of the comments made by the company in the last few days and they don’t make a lot of sense. One said that no employee makes less than $2400pm and on less than £5.20. That £5.20 has now been confirmed to be wrong but even before it was, how many hours a week do you have to be working to earn $2400pm at those pay rates!!!! 12hr shifts 7 days a week still doesn’t get you to that figure. If they live aboard I wonder if they pay for food and accommodation?

    hot_fiat
    Full Member

    Yeah I’ve noticed the cost has gone up a lot recently. I wanted to take the alfa to Zandfort for the weekend, to the massive Italian car meet. 2-day return, me, car, inside cabin, no food:

    IMG_9283

    Thanks but no thanks. Was similar from Hull.

    Logistics wise the departure from North Shields is also really irksome – 17:00 Means you have to check in around 15:00. Whereas with the 20:00 sailing from Hull we normally can pick the kids up from school on last day and be on the ferry by 18:30, fed and have them in bed before it sets sail. Coming home from our ski holidays my Sister & her family have been sat in the queue for border farce at shields while we’re already at home, van unpacked with the kettle on. We’re 16 miles from the DFDS terminal at Shields!

    I strongly suspect that all the operators (possibly not Brittanny Ferries) treat the staff the same way. P&O just got caught.

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