P&O CEO Peter Hebblethwaite voted ‘worst boss in the world’

Responsible for the emergency layoff of about 800 employees in March, P&O ferry company general manager Peter Hebblethwaite was elected the “worst boss in the world” on Monday on the sidelines of the Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

After an open online vote, the British carrier’s boss won 39% of 3,711 votes cast, ahead of Amazon’s American counterpart Jeff Bezos (25%) and Australian airline Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (20%). ), the confederation said.

CSI, which voted on the occasion of its four-year Congress in Melbourne, has selected three more candidates for the “worst boss of the year” award: Gina Rinehart and the head of the Australian mining group Hancock Prospecting, Howard Schultz (Starbucks) and Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Emirates).

CEOs are “savvy”

Peter Hebblethwaite’s ‘shame’ “reaches international heights after being voted the world’s worst boss,” Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the ITF transport union federation, commented in an ITUC press release.

CEOs, he says, “are being warned that if you don’t protect workers’ rights and guarantee them decent work, safe working conditions, respect and dignity, the international trade union movement will hold you accountable. »

After voting began on October 19 and closed on Sunday, netizens sanctioned Peter Hebblethwaite for sacking nearly 800 sailors overnight and replacing them with workers who are paid below the UK minimum wage.

100 million losses per year

In his defense, the P&O boss kept repeating that the company’s cost model was unsustainable and that it was losing £100m a year.

He stunned a parliamentary committee by explaining that the P&O leaders deliberately broke the law by refusing to negotiate with unions, which were nonetheless mandatory.

In the aftermath of these shocking layoffs in the UK, both criminal and civil investigations have been launched by the British authorities.

Peter Hebblethwaite succeeded Jeff Bezos (2014) and Ryanair general manager Michael O’Leary (2018) on the list of “worst bosses in the world”.

On Monday, the new General Secretary of the ITUC, Italian Luca Visentini, also delivered his first speech the day after he was elected. According to the statement, he vowed to “fight tirelessly” to achieve “social justice and peace” for workers around the world. “We need climate-smart jobs, worker rights, fair wages, social protection, equality and inclusion,” said Luca Visentini, who replaced Australian Sharan Burrow in office since 2010.