We Sailed On The First P O Ferry From Hull Following The Mass Crew Sackings And This Is What We Discovered

But since March 17, when P&O decided to ax 800 employees without warning and via video, Rotterdam and its sister ship, the Pride of Hull, were crammed in, with empty cabins and deserted cargo decks. But as The Pride of Hull, which saw 82 of its crew fired as part of the killing, remains moored at Rotterdam’s Europoort, P&O has partially resumed services with the Pride of Rotterdam. And for his first trip on Saturday, Hull Live Local Democracy reporter Joe Gerrard came with her to Hull for her overnight stay in Rotterdam. What follows is what he found while on the ship. Read more: Have your say on P&O layoffs in our poll Hull Local Democracy reporter Joe Gerrard (pictured) sailed on the first P&O ship from Hull (Image: LDRS) Arrival at the port in Hal The welcoming party for the passengers who arrived to board the King George Dock in Hull on Saturday night was three British transport police cars and their officers. The Rotterdam Pride She barely made it to Hull after Rotterdam dock workers tried to stop her from leaving in solidarity with the sacked British crew. However, it eventually started and docked in Hull early in the morning, amid threats of branching to stop loading. The police seemed to be on standby to prevent any action and her presence seemed to work. A queue of cars fell from the dock into the boat, with the occasional caravan being towed. But when I arrived around 6pm, the passenger terminal was terribly quiet. I was one of the only passengers and I walked straight to the office, showed my tickets and documents and they put me on the gang board and on the Rotterdam Pride after security checks. The weather was definitely perfect for a weekend getaway with the sun shining and warming up and I wondered if this might have made people look for a last minute vacation with whim. But the ship itself lacked impulsive cashiers to treat, or tourists in general for that matter. Read more related articles Read more related articles The passage to Rotterdam- boarding As I boarded the boat, I was met by a member of the crew who greeted me warmly and politely. Summarize the geography of the ship and where I could find my cabin. British transport police cars at King George Dock in Hull as passengers board P&O ship to Rotterdam (Image: LDRS) The worker was Asian and although I did not know his specific nationality, he responded to reports that Pride of Hull The crews were replaced by office staff from the Philippines. Terms and conditions for crews at Rotterdam Pride Hull East MP Karl Turner has described it as disgusting, before those P&Os that want to impose on Pride of Hull . So the Rotterdam Pride offered a glimpse of what the conditions might be like for the ship’s brother’s new crew. The employees themselves were not professionals at all and I never heard or saw anyone do anything wrong. The vast majority of the hospitality staff, those manning the three bars on the ship, cafes and restaurants, were of Asian descent and were men. I saw an Englishwoman at the ship’s reception, which seemed to be staffed by Europeans. Hull Local Democracy journalist Joe Gerrard’s cabin at the Pride of Rotterdam (Image: LDRS) The ship’s deck crew, its captain and the sailors in their double-breasted jackets, were all Europeans, mostly Dutch, including the captain. The higher you rank in the hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will be white and European. The lower you went, the more likely they were to be BAME and non-European. After leaving my bags in my cabin, which was neat and clean, I started exploring the ship. The ferry, like my cabin, was generally neat and tidy, you could say ship-shaped. Dinner, on-board exploration and entertainment sampling I wandered to their “casino”, which consisted of a roulette table and some virtual poker and blackjack machines. The roulette table was broken and had a “P&O Ferries – Off” sign. I thought to myself, “After what happened, you can say it again.” It remains to be seen whether the P&O bet with its staff will pay off. ‘P & O- Off’. Indeed (Image: LDRS) I ate around 8 p.m. just as the ship was starting. The restaurant was well below half capacity and the dining profile was mostly couples aged 30 and over. There was a family with a baby no older than 18 months. From what I could tell at the restaurant and elsewhere, the passengers were mostly adults looking for a fun weekend away. After eating my spicy pork and rice, I left the restaurant. Shortly afterwards, I met a shipbuilding worker and started talking. He was a man and he told me he was Filipino and he seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. He would be one of the staff members earning just over λί 3 an hour. Who stays on the ship for months at a time and only with short visits on land their breaks. After talking, he said without urging him: “It is quiet today, I think because of the time of year, but also because of what happened.” “You mean with jobs?” I answered. “Yes, there are not many people sailing today.” Empty tables at P & O’s The Brasserie restaurant in Pride of Rotterdam (Image: LDRS) I asked him where he was from and what the conditions were for him and his companions. He told me that he and others worked six months on the boat, with two months off at the port, both in Hull and Rotterdam. He said the crew stayed on the ship, but had the freedom to go ashore and thank himself for his break and had dinner in downtown Hull. “How do you feel about what happened to? Pride of Hull crew? “I asked:” Are you worried? ” “We feel sorry for them, for sure, but to be honest we do not worry about our work, we know we will be fine.” Read more related articles Read more related articles Humanity and solidarity came from him, but he did not seem too gradual from the developments Pride of Hull . These staff, as later said by informed sources, are employed on six-month contracts. They go home for six months, while waiting to see if they will be re-hired for another six-month sailing term, living on the ship and earning 3-5 £ an hour. But like all the ship’s crew, there is no indication of conditions that would be unbearable for workers in the UK and most Europeans. They are happy and smiling and professional. I left this crew at work and set up for the Sky Lounge, a piano bar that rises to the upper rungs of the ship’s clientele. I could count the number of people in the bar on the one hand, more and more the space had the air of a ghost ship. A man was entertaining the small number of people at the bar, when I sat down with my drink he was playing New England by Billy Bragg. The irony of booking a show by playing songs by a class-conscious artist was clearly lost on P&O. The song was his last and shortly after the man picked up his guitar, I got off the deck at the stern of the ship and went to the main showroom where I last saw a bingo game in progress. A cover band was playing in a room where about five or six of the tables were occupied when I sat down at about 10:30 p.m. The band members did not look too excited, I had the impression that they were playing professionally, but they were hardly playing their heart out at all. The band playing in the P&O’s lounge did not have a huge crowd (Image: LDRS) Speaking to fellow passengers About four people danced first in the band and then in the short DJ set that followed. I met a group formed by two parties of two, one of them told me he was in his 40s and was engaged for a day in Amsterdam with his friend. I asked him what he did with the dismissals. “To be honest, if I had known I would not have sailed, I thought what they were doing was horrible. “But I ended this trip a while ago and it cost me a lot of money, so if I hadn’t gone I would have lost it.” Speaking separately to two women from Doncaster who also went to Amsterdam, one said: “Do not misunderstand me, I am very sorry for the crews. “But when we got on the ship, some people shouted, ‘This is not the way to win our sympathy.’ It was all quiet at Pride of Rotterdam’s Sun Deck (Image: LDRS) Go back and talk to the unions After spending the afternoon in Rotterdam, I returned to the ship by bus around 6 p.m. The Rotterdam ferry terminal seemed much busier than Hull, but it was not crowded. I suspect that some people may have been on the continent since the ferry services were suspended and had now found their way home. The ship itself also seemed busier, but not much. I imagine the huge size of the ship effectively swallows the passengers scattered on it, so it would have to have a large number to be noisy. I sat on the upper deck and behind it Rotterdam Pride she was Pride of Hull. She sat anchored in the Europort, almost withered and very sorry for herself. But at the same time I was seeing people on his bridge and lights were shining through some of her portholes. Pride of Hull remains moored at Rotterdam Europort (Image: LDRS) The ship seemed almost eager to leave, like someone waiting for a train late, tapping its feet and stepping up and down. I saw a worker on deck waving and shouting his greetings Pride of Hull perhaps trying to get the attention of his compatriots or at least his colleagues. I watched from the top deck as …