THE TUC must call a national strike if unregulated and emboldened bosses launch another P&O-style attack on workers, a leading trade unionist said today.

Gaz Jackson, regional organiser at transport union RMT, said: “We need more than a strongly worded letter: we need action to defend workers across all industries.”

He addressed the annual conference of the Bakers, Food & Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU), which has stood in solidarity with the 786 seafarers who were fired without notice by the disgraced ferry operator on March 17 2022.

The widely condemned move, instigated by P&O’s Dubai-based parent company DP World, was a “line in the sand: we either roll over and get our bellies tickled, or we fight,” Mr Jackson said.

Speaking in Stone, Staffordshire, he said: “If this happens again, I call on the TUC to call a national strike of all workers across all affiliate unions — nobody should be left behind.”

The union body represents 5.5 million people across 48 unions.

RMT’s organiser for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, who attempted to resist the mass sacking in Hull in person, told delegates that he arrived that morning to see “people with handcuffs and security vests on coming to take our members off the ship.

“The boss said: ‘You’ve got 10 minutes, pack your stuff. If not, these security guards will remove you.’”

Mr Jackson slammed Tory ministers for taking little action to stop the illegal move, saying: “We’ve had enough of the government treating people like scum.”

He praised the BFAWU and compared it to his own union, saying: “We may be small in comparison to bigger unions, but we make up for that with our organising skills and our ability to fight.”