Rachel Reeves has said she “wouldn’t have any problems” getting on a P&O ferry following the fire-and-rehire scandal.
The chancellor was asked to clarify her position after criticism by her colleagues almost derailed a planned investment announcement from the travel operator’s owner ahead of a crucial summit.
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P&O Ferries caused a huge controversy in 2022 when it suddenly sacked 800 seafarers and replaced them with cheaper foreign agency workers.
It emerged on Friday that its Dubai-based owner, DP World, considered pulling £1bn in funding to its London Gateway container port after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh branded P&O, its subsidiary company, a “rogue operator” and called for a boycott.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Reeves distanced herself from Ms Haigh’s remarks, saying: “I wouldn’t have any problems with getting on a P&O ferry.”
She said the £1bn investment, which was ultimately saved after a weekend of frantic negotiations, was “really important” as it will “bring good jobs, pay decent wages… and expand our capabilities to import and export around the world”.
In a tweet in March 2022, Ms Reeves hit out at the P&O lay-offs, calling it “disgraceful behaviour” and saying it should be illegal.
Asked if she does not care where investment comes from, the chancellor said her government has introduced laws to protect seafarers from future mass sackings.
“Under the Conservatives, it was possible to fire and rehire workers. It was possible to have exploitative zero hour contracts. We’re ending that,” she said in reference to the Employment Rights Bill.
Pressed on whether Labour’s workers’ rights agenda can chime with the need for private investment, Ms Reeves said governments can be “both pro-worker and pro-business”.
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£1bn investment in UK to go ahead
“I don’t think you can be pro working people unless you’re creating the environment to get businesses to invest in Britain,” she said.
“And similarly, you can’t be pro business unless you’re pro skilling-up working people to ensure that they’ve got the skills to do the jobs that are available in the economy. So the two things go hand in hand.”
Ms Reeves is the latest senior figure to distance themselves from the transport secretary’s comments. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he did not share Ms Haigh’s views, while Science Secretary Peter Kyle said the company had “turned a corner” and DP World had signed up to the government’s new workers’ rights laws last week.
Had the funding been shelved, it would have been a huge blow to the government’s International Investment Summit on Monday, in which Sir Keir rolled out the red carpet for chief executives in the hope of securing billions worth of deals.
DP World confirmed over the weekend that it would still attend the event after “constructive and positive discussions with the government” gave it “the clarity we need”.
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The company owns ports and logistics operations in more than 60 countries and generated global revenues of almost £14bn last year.
Confirming the investment plan on Monday, it said it would expand London Gateway to become Britain’s largest container port within five years, creating a further 400 permanent new jobs.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, said: “DP World London Gateway will help make Britain’s trade flow in the future by connecting domestic exporters with global markets and delivering vital supply chain resilience for the whole economy.
“I am proud of this major investment which underlines DP World’s long-term commitment to the UK.”