That this House is deeply concerned at the recent announcement by Brittany Ferries that it is to withdraw from the proposed acquisition of two P & O Ferries vessels on the Western Channel; notes that P & O Ferries has stated that it intends to discontinue services on the Portsmouth to Le-Havre route from September; believes that the decision of the Office of Fair Trading not to approve the acquisition of these ships by Brittany Ferries, and the consequent lengthy referral to the Competition Commission, damaged the UK ferry industry and led to the potential dismissal of 270 UK seafarers; further notes that if neither operator continues services there will be no ferry service from the United Kingdom to Caen, Cherbourg or Le Havre and that these dismissals are in addition to a further 900 redundancies for United Kingdom seafarers who have also been dismissed as part of the same exercise within the P & O Ferries Group; and therefore calls on the Secretary of State for Transport to intervene in this matter with the companies concerned and to ensure that the United Kingdom ferry industry retains a core of United Kingdom seafaring skills.

That this House is deeply concerned at the recent announcement by Brittany Ferries that it is to withdraw from the proposed acquisition of two P & O Ferries vessels on the Western Channel; notes that P & O Ferries has stated that it intends to discontinue services on the Portsmouth...

That this House notes that 2003 is the 15th anniversary of the strike by P&O seafarers in Dover who fought for 14 months to retain conditions of service and protect safe manning standards in the wake of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster; recalls that P&O's response, in breach of ILO Convention 87/9 was to sack the whole workforce of some 2,000 people without options of redundancy or recompense; believes that the strikers were unfairly dismissed; notes that the then opposition front bench and the Labour Party Conference supported the sacked seafarers in their efforts to gain justice and compensation; records that most of the proposals to cut crews which caused the strike were not adopted; applauds the tenacity of the sacked seafarers for their sustained campaign; recognises that other groups of victimised workers have been granted compensation; and calls on the Labour Government to help redress the wrongs and injustices which were imposed on the sacked P&O seafarers under the protection of previous Tory Governments.

That this House notes that 2003 is the 15th anniversary of the strike by P&O seafarers in Dover who fought for 14 months to retain conditions of service and protect safe manning standards in the wake of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster; recalls that P&O's response, in breach of...

That this House deplores the invidious position faced by Merchant Navy officers whose contracts are being terminated on ships in the Associated Bulk Carriers fleet that is being sold by the P and O Group; notes that, despite being UK citizens and having many years of loyal service, these officers are employed on 'offshore' contracts; notes the nature of these contracts, based in Bermuda, is such that these officers are denied the employment protection rights that are extended to British workers ashore and are therefore exposed to a non-UK legal system with which they are unfamiliar; notes that the arrangements mean that these officers are effectively denied the right to pursue legitimate contractual issues through the UK and European legal systems; urges P and O to look again at this situation, in the light of their massive cost savings made by this sale, to ensure that the officers receive, as a minimum a settlement equivalent to, their full pay for the notice period; and also urges the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to look again at the proposals of the Working Group on Shipping with regard to protection of those people working on 'offshore' contracts.

That this House deplores the invidious position faced by Merchant Navy officers whose contracts are being terminated on ships in the Associated Bulk Carriers fleet that is being sold by the P and O Group; notes that, despite being UK citizens and having many years of loyal service, these officers...

That this House deplores the action of Lord Stirling and P&O Ferries in continuing to unnecessarily replace British seafarers with other nationals; and believes that, as a result of the Government's much-welcomed initiative to ensure a level playing field for the United Kingdom's merchant navy, no company within the British maritime industry has any justification for such action and should, therefore, retain the services of British seafarers currently employed and seek to increase the number of British seafarers employed in the future.

That this House deplores the action of Lord Stirling and P&O Ferries in continuing to unnecessarily replace British seafarers with other nationals; and believes that, as a result of the Government's much-welcomed initiative to ensure a level playing field for the United Kingdom's merchant navy, no company within the British...

That this House notes with distaste that P&O/Stena have offered minimum redundancy payments to its ferryworkers in Newhaven; notes that the same company has offered each of its workers based in Dieppe a figure ??18,000 higher; believes that this approach, coming on top of the recent announcement of the withdrawal of the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry, which flies in the face of the impression of the company's commitment to the line when P&O and Stena merged less than a year ago, adds insult to injury; and calls on P&O/Stena to offer redundant workers in Newhaven the same terms as those it is offering to the French.

That this House notes with distaste that P&O/Stena have offered minimum redundancy payments to its ferryworkers in Newhaven; notes that the same company has offered each of its workers based in Dieppe a figure ??18,000 higher; believes that this approach, coming on top of the recent announcement of the withdrawal...

That this House notes with grave concern that P&O/Stena may withdraw the ferry service between Newhaven and Dieppe; believes this link is vital for the economy not just of Newhaven but of a much wider area including Brighton; notes that port owners Sea Containers have failed to do anything in the last 10 years other than have the port tick over, which in turn has put the ferry operation in jeopardy; nevertheless believes that Newhaven port and its ferry service can be successful commercially; calls on Sea Containers to commit themselves at least to the deepening of the existing deep-water harbour; and calls on the Government to apply pressure to the company to achieve this, and to help secure EU funding to facilitate this.

That this House notes with grave concern that P&O/Stena may withdraw the ferry service between Newhaven and Dieppe; believes this link is vital for the economy not just of Newhaven but of a much wider area including Brighton; notes that port owners Sea Containers have failed to do anything in...