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Bobby Shafto 2022

Boby Shafto was just told to go
When made redundant from P&O.
He’s annoyed with the company’s gall
They only dismissed him by video call.
They just gave him hours too pack,
No appeal allowed, he’d got the sack,
But there’s nothing more he can do
They’ve been replaced by agency crew.

He had to sign on at the Dole
No jobs at steel or old King Coal.
Modern work’s changed that’s a fact
Now they have Zero hour contracts
And Politicians just don’t give a toss
As long as companies don’t make a loss.
Wasn’t it a Minister of State who said it
Subsidise slave wages with Tax Credit

He’s heard all about the hardship
Of trying to survive on basic PIP.
He thank the Lord he has no wife
As he starts his unemployed life.
He’s got redundancy cash to be fair
But maritime jobs are so very rare.
He remembers when the port was full
And a huge fishing fleet sailed from Hull.

He’s not used to being at home,
Used to having the world to roam.
Bobby’s glad he wasn’t born too late
To remember when Britain was Great.
Now we’re run by pimps and whores 
Hiding their money in funds offshore,
An economy that limps and stalls
A pound that sharply rises and falls,

Not helped by that disastrous exit
Caused by a minority voting Brexit
They still wave their Union Jack 
They think they’ve got the country back.
P&O continues and is thriving still.
After massive cuts to its wage bill,
Bobby Shafto’s still back on shore
No job for him at sea anymore.

The shipping company P & O dismissed a large number of staff, without prior notification or negotiation, by Zoom.  They were given just hours to leave their ships.   Replacement Asian crews were waiting on coaches to replace them.   Their wages were well below the rate agreed for British seamen, saving the company millions.

Copyright © Terry Ireland | Year Posted 2022

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