Executives behind P&O Ferries sackings share £16m payday

The Spirit of Britain (top) passes the Pride of Canterbury (middle) and the Pride of Kent (bottom) as it arrives at the Port of Dover, in Kent, after completing further sea trials as P&O Ferries prepare to resume Dover-Calais sailings for freight customers. The vessel was detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on April 12 after safety issues were found, but was cleared to sail last Friday. The ferry company sacked nearly 800 seafarers with no notice on March 17, replacing them with cheaper agency workers. Picture date: Tuesday April 26, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story SEA Ferries. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The Dubai executives behind P&O Ferries shared a $19m (£16m) payday following last year’s mass sackings at the English Channel operator.

Bosses at DP World, the owners of P&O Ferries, received $18.9m in salary, bonuses and other incentives during 2022, according to accounts published on Tuesday.

P&O Ferries sacked nearly 800 seafarers a year ago, sparking widespread outrage. DP World were accused of being the driving force behind the shock redundancies.

DP World, which is ultimately owned by the Government of Dubai, did not disclose how much individual executives were paid, as is commonplace among companies in the West.

The business refused to say whether P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite was among the "key management" to share in the payouts.

It said that the payouts were for the company's board and key management in a short note to the company’s financial statements.

Board members at DP World include former UAE economic minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori and Mohamed Saif Al Suawaidi, director general of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

DP World only has two executive directors, who would typically receive significantly higher remuneration compared with non-executive counterparts.

The company is led by chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, whose father was a prominent adviser to the Maktoum family, Dubai’s ruling dynasty.

Months after P&O’s mass sackings, Mr bin Sulayem praised Mr Hebblethwaite for doing an “amazing job” in restructuring the ferry operator.

Peter Hebblethwaite, Chief Executive, P&O Ferries, answering questions in front of the Transport Committee and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee in the House of Commmons on the subject of P&O Ferries after the ferry giant handed 800 seafarers immediate severance notices last week. Picture date: Thursday March 24, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story General News Ferries. Photo credit should read: House of Commons/PA Wire - House of Commons/PA Wire

P&O Ferries is one of many DP World investments around the world. It operates 78 ports and 50 other businesses from Sydney in the east to Prince Rupert, Canada, in the west.

The sackings at P&O Ferries prompted the Government to bring in laws to prevent a repeat of the matter, however critics argue that the legal changes are largely ineffective.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said: “DP World has been allowed to get away scot-free.”

He said the “eye-watering payouts” were “an insult to common decency.”

The payday for DP World’s top brass came as the UK gave Thames Freeport, also owned by the Dubai company, the green light.

The Thames Freeport bid has been led by Ruth Kelly, the former Labour frontbencher who served as education secretary under Sir Tony Blair.

Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World, said: “DP World plans to make £1bn of investment into the UK over the next decade, including the £350m new fourth berth at London Gateway that is currently under construction.

“We will continue to look at options to enable the UK economy’s global connectivity, create high-skilled jobs, invest in clean energy technologies, and support the development of local industry.”

Union leaders were angered by the announcement. Mr Nowak said: “Ministers should have stripped DP World of all their lucrative public contracts and severed all commercial ties with the company.

“Without stronger protections for workers, there is nothing stopping another P&O Ferries scandal from happening again."

P&O Ferries is in the process of bringing two new hybrid ships to run between Dover and Calais and replace older more inefficient vessels. Last month the company insisted it was not planning further redundancies.

The new ferries were originally billed as “the most sustainable ships ever to sail on the English Channel”. However, the Telegraph revealed that they could not currently be plugged into the grid in Dover or Calais.