RMT demands Govt action to halt threat to North Sea jobs

20 November 2018

RMT Press Office:

Seafarer union RMT demands Government action to halt latest threat to North Sea jobs

SEAFARER union RMT today demanded Government intervention to prevent the loss of hundreds of Scottish and UK seafarer Ratings’ jobs following Tidewater’s buy out of Gulfmark to form the world’s largest offshore supply vessel (OSV) company.

Up to 300 Ratings jobs are on the line, with Tidewater refusing to discuss the future of Gulfmark’s UK registered fleet with the recognised union, RMT.

General Secretary, Mick Cash said:

“Tidewater must meet us in Aberdeen for immediate discussion of our members’ jobs on the fleet of offshore supply vessels acquired as part of the Gulfmark takeover. We cannot have another damaging loss of UK Ratings’ jobs and I fully expect the Shipping Minister Nusrat Ghani MP, with whom we had a useful discussion of the Tidewater-Gulfmark takeover in October, to step in to protect seafarers’ jobs in the North Sea, if necessary.

"Predatory companies seeking to slash terms and conditions and discriminate against foreign seafarers by paying well below the National Minimum Wage must be driven out of the shipping industry. As we head for the EU exit, non-EU companies in the North Sea need a strong reminder from trade unions and the Government of the need to protect British seafarers’ jobs and trade union rights in the OSV sector.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Following a unanimous vote by shareholders in Huston, Texas, Tidewater officially took over Gulfmark on 15 November 2018 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=81406&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2377380
2. The merger will create the world’s largest offshore supply vessel (OSV) company, including the largest remaining UK-registered OSV fleet in the North Sea.
3. Up to 300 UK Ratings’ jobs are at risk from this takeover. Due to the official silence from both companies, it has not been confirmed that TUPE will apply to existing collective bargaining agreements with UK unions.
4. Over 1,000 UK seafarers (mainly Ratings) have lost their jobs in the OSV sector since the collapse in oil prices from 2014, according to the RMT.