P&O workers left jobless by their employer have been urged to apply for positions with Caledonian MacBrayne.
CalMac's managing director Robbie Drummond said in a statement he was "shocked" by the news 800 seafarers had been thrown out by P&O yesterday without notice.
And he invited them to come and work for him instead.
He said: "We at CalMac were shocked and saddened to hear about the redundancies at P&O Ferries. This is an awful situation for our many ferry industry colleagues.
"We have vacancies currently available, including a number of deck ratings and seaman pursers required to start in April, and would encourage anyone affected to apply as soon as possible."
There are currently 16 deck ratings vacancies and one spot for a seaman purser.
P&O operates the route between Cairnryan and Larne in Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: Vladimir Putin addresses flag-waving pro-war rally in Moscow
It emerged today the UK Government knew about the firm's plans to sack hundreds of its staff the day before employees were told over a video message.
The company is expected to halve crewing costs by replacing 800 seafarers with agency workers.
According to Boris Johnson’s official spokesman, some officials in the Department for Transport were told of the plan on Wednesday night.
Demonstrations have been held at UK ports throughout today and there are plans for protests outside the Tory party's spring conference in Blackpool tomorrow.
For more information about CalMac's vacancies visit https://www.calmac.co.uk/article/8504/Ref-809-SG-Seaman-Purser or https://www.calmac.co.uk/article/8671/Ref-806-SG-Deck-Ratings
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel