Liverpool fans planning their trip to Paris for the Champions League final have been urged to avoid using a particular travel agency.
A number of political leaders in the city have called on Reds fans to boycott P&O Ferries as they plan their trips to watch their team face Real Madrid in the final of Europe’s biggest competition at the Stade de France on Saturday, May 28. P&O Ferries caused shock and outrage across the country in March when the company abruptly and without warning fired 800 employees, replacing them with poorly paid employees at the agency.
The move sparked mass protests in port cities such as Liverpool, where the company operates.
READ MORE:P&O removes all ferry services by telling customers to “book with another operator”
After Liverpool retained their place in the final in Paris with a victory over Spanish Villarreal on Tuesday night, Reds fan and Western Derby MP Ian Byrne urged all supporters not to use the company, which continues to run ferries between Dover and Calais.
He tweeted: “May I ask all the Reds who travel to Paris to watch the mighty Reds on May 28, boycott P&O Ferries and use other alternatives after the brutal dismissal of 800 sailors and show the solidarity we are known for.
A colleague of Liverpool MP Dan Cardon, who represents Liverpool Walton, where LFC is based, agreed. He retweeted Mr Byrne and simply added: “#BoycottPandOFerries.”
Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotherham also backed a call for a boycott. He responded to a tweet from GMB union member Neil Smith, urging LFC supporters not to use P&O Ferries, saying it was “right”.
The company has had a number of problems since deciding to abruptly lay off 800 employees. This week, it was reported that one of its ferries, the Pride of Kent, had failed an inspection by the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency for the third time.
The company had four ferries operating on the Dover-Calais route, but only one received permission to resume passenger services from the day the decision was made to lay off employees and replace them with cheaper employees at the agency.
The ferry company worked on a reduced schedule on Tuesday, with the normal schedule resumed on Wednesday. P&O passenger services have already resumed on three other routes in the United Kingdom, between Liverpool and Dublin, between Cairnryan, Scotland and Larne, Northern Ireland; and between Hull and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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