P&O Ferries is a shipping company that operates ferries from the UK to Ireland and France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. On Thursday, the company sparked outrage when it fired 800 workers via a video link, informing them it was their last day of employment. Intentions are reportedly to replace employees with cheaper contract workers.

Politicians, unions, and the public alike have expressed fury over the summary dismissal of which workers were given no prior notice. Meanwhile, budget carrier easyJet is coming to the rescue of P&O staff made redundant. In a statement on its social media channels yesterday, the airline said that it would be fast-tracking the applications for UK cabin crew roles from P&O Ferries employees.

easyJet would also actively reach out to affected P&O workers and encourage them to apply for both cabin crew positions and administrative functions and other roles at the airline's London Luton Airport HQ offices. Tina Milton, the carrier's Director of Cabin Services, said,

"Everyone at easyJet is saddened by the news about P&O Ferries and the anxiety that their people will be feeling. As part of our ongoing recruitment drive, we still have fantastic seasonal cabin crew opportunities across our UK network, along with a number of roles at our London Luton Airport headquarters and our recruitment team will be reaching out to as many individuals as possible, to encourage them to apply."

Fixed-term contracts across the UK

According to the announcement on its website, easyJet is specifically looking for seasonal cabin crew at its regional bases at Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, or Bristol on fixed-term contracts. Milton further stated,

"We know that P&O Ferries’ people will be a valuable addition to our easyJet team, and we would be delighted to welcome many of them onboard with us in the coming weeks.”

Earlier this year, the airline initiated a big push for people 'from all walks of life' to consider joining the industry as pilots.

No ferries for ten days

When P&O dismissed hundreds of staff, it did so without having replacements lined up. As such, there will be no ferries from the company for a period of ten days from Dover to Calais, Dublin to Liverpool, Hull to Rotterdam, or Larne to Cairnryan while the company locates new crew.

The Department for Transport told Parliament that there were contingency plans in place and that supplies of critical goods should not be affected. However, travelers should be warned of disruptions over the coming weeks.

Comparisons to #BAbetrayal

Meanwhile, MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Commons Transport Select Committee, compared it to the controversial move attempted by British Airways that sparked a union campaign referred to as #BAbetrayal. As quoted by Business Live, Mr Merriman said,

“Firing loyal staff and replacing them with cheaper labour sourced from elsewhere is not a model that the public will wear. That model was not acceptable when our national flag carrier airline attempted to adopt it, and it is not acceptable now."