3 July 2015
RMT Press Office
Following a vote of nearly 95% in favour of action on an 83% turn out, shipping union RMT confirmed today that members on Argyll Ferries will be taking strike action as follows:
Not to book on for shifts commencing between the hours of 00.01 and 23.59 on Friday 10th July.
The dispute is similar to the one on CalMac’s ferry operations with the union setting out the following demands:
Job Security – a term inserted into members current contract of employment with immediate effect that there will be no compulsory redundancies and no changes to staffing levels without agreement being reached with your Union.
Conditions of Service – a term inserted into members current contract of employment with immediate effect that that there will be no changes to your conditions of service without agreement being reached with your Union.
Pensions – a guarantee that all members will remain in the current pension scheme and that no changes will be made to the scheme without agreement being reached with your Union.
Argyll Ferries have refused to comply with these very simple and basic requirements and as a result the union has no option but to move to industrial action.
With the separate CalMac dispute itself unresolved RMT confirmed today that, following the rock solid support for strike action last week, members will be out again as follows:
Not to book on for shifts commencing between the hours of 00.01 and 23.59 on Friday 10th July.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Despite the most strenuous efforts to negotiate a settlement on CalMac we are still not getting the clear assurances that we seek that will defend the safety-critical jobs and working conditions that go hand in hand with delivering safe and efficient lifeline ferry services to the communities that we serve. It is a cold hard fact that privatisation is all about a race to the bottom in order to maximise profits and our members will not sit back while they are caught in the crossfire of the tendering process.
“Our members on Argyll Ferries now find themselves staring down the barrel of exactly those same kind of attacks on jobs and working conditions and have delivered a massive and rock-solid mandate for action.
“RMT urges the people of Scotland to remain resolute in their support for the workforce in both these disputes – our fight is your fight.”
Ends
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Tagged with: calmac, caledonian macbrayne, argyll ferries, strike action
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