P&O Ferries: Agency staff sacked after breaching alcohol guidelines

P&O Ferries has confirmed seven agency staff were sacked after returning from shore in breach of guidelines on alcohol consumption.

The company said: "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."

Last month P&O replaced 800 UK seafarers with cheaper agency staff.

A protest march against the sackings was held in Dover on Tuesday.

Both the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Nautilus unions called for action at several ports after the 800 workers were sacked via video message in March.

Darren Procter, from the RMT, said the latest incident was "absolutely scandalous".

He said: "They could end this today by saying to the RMT and to Nautilus: 'We've made a mistake, we've compromised safety, we've jeopardised our reputation in the local community, and we want to come back to you.'"

P&O's Dover-Calais fleet is still awaiting safety clearance from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

P&O has insisted it had to change its business model because it was losing money.

It had hoped to resume sailings over Easter, until two of its ships on the Dover-Calais route failed safety inspections.

The RMT has accused P&O of treating its staff, passengers and the people of Kent who have been affected by the disruption "with contempt".

John Lansdown, a former ferry chef who was sacked and is suing P&O for unfair dismissal, racial discrimination and harassment, said he was "sickened and distressed" over the way he and his colleagues were treated.

He said: "We're on day 34 now and there appears to be no end in sight to the chaos that we're seeing inflicted upon roads in Kent, and many local businesses, as a result of the actions of P&O ferries."

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