UK – IRELAND – Having made much last week of how it was going to maintain the bulk of its European freight and passenger ferry services, this week Stena Line has announced that it plan to furlough 600 employees with 150 redundancies across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The move has met with some disapproval from the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) whose union represents the company's shore based employees.

Last month Stena Line announced redundancies that will affect 950 people employed in Scandinavia. A number of these employees have since also been furloughed. Further job losses have subsequently been made in Denmark and the Baltics. The company is evaluating its operations in all regions and does not rule out that there could be further furlough, redundancy or changes to its current sailing schedules or routes.

Since the crisis emerged Stena Line has experienced a large decline in travel bookings and freight volumes. It is estimated that passenger figures will not recover until well into 2021. As a result of the significant reduction in revenue, the firm says it was forced to take tough decisions in order to cut costs and ensure that their vital supply lines of essential goods in Europe.

“We fully understand the huge financial impact of Coronavirus. Our union will work with Stena to seek to avoid the need for any redundancies. We welcome the fact that Stena is proposing that employees should be furloughed as an alternative to redundancies, but are naturally concerned that redundancies are proposed anyway.

“Stena has refused to rule out a further increase in furlough leave, redundancies and changes to timetables and/or the route network. I’d simply urge bosses to tread with caution at this time, to ensure that everything possible is done so the company and our members can get through this crisis together. It’s also crucial that Ministers in Britain and Ireland are proactive in ensuring important transport links are maintained at this critical time.”

Source: handyshippingguide

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