RMT protest in Poole for European Maritime Day of Action

RMT protest in Poole for European Maritime Day of Action

18 May 2017

RMT Press Office:

MARITIME UNION RMT will be protesting against low-cost crewing in the shipping industry – as practiced by local employer Condor Ferries – outside the European Maritime Day conference in Poole today.

The protest will take place Thursday 18th May, 8.30am, Poole Lighthouse Arts and Conference Centre, 21 Kingland Rd, Poole, BH15 1UG.

Poole180517
 
As part of RMT’s SOS 2020 campaign the event will be attended by RMT members and other trade unionists who will be voicing their outrage at unjust practices which undermine jobs and collectively bargained rates of pay across the UK and Europe.
 
RMT members and supporters will be highlighting the fact that:
 
•         Over 500,000 seafarers work in European waters, yet 56% are non-EU nationals on poverty pay.
•         87,000 Ratings jobs in the UK shipping industry, yet only 10% are held by UK seafarers.
•         3,000 UK Ratings will retire by 2020 but only a handful of UK Ratings are in training.
 
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
 
“Since 2011 UK Ratings have fallen by 25%.  The ageing nature of our seafarers means that if training and employment do not increase before then, 2020 will see the retirement of thousands of UK Seafarers, exposing this country to negative economic, social and security effects of a maritime skills deficit.

RMT National Secretary Steve Todd added;
“As part of our SOS2020 campaign RMT is demanding jobs, training and the end of the race to the bottom on pay and working conditions. Our objective is simple – a guaranteed future for the UK shipping industry based on the development of a skilled and expanded domestic workforce that will secure the economy of areas like Poole well into the future."
 
ENDS

Note to editors

Examples of Seafarer Ratings pay in European shipping industry 2017

 

Operator

Vessel & Route

Basic pay

Flag of vessels

Rating

Nationality[1]

Seatruck

Pace, Irish Sea

£3.78 per hour

Cyprus

Polish

Seatruck

Clipper Pennant, Heysham-Warrenpoint

£3.78 p.h.

 

Cyprus

Polish

Seatruck

Power, Irish Sea

£3.78 p.h.

Isle of Man

Polish

Condor Ferries

Portsmouth to Jersey and Guernsey

£2.40 p.h.

Bahamas

Ukrainian

P&O

Norbank, Irish Sea

$3.47 p.h.

Netherlands

Filipino

P&O

Norbay, Irish Sea

$3.47 p.h.

Bermuda

Filipino

P&O

European Endeavour, Irish Sea

£1.75 p.h. (AB grade)

Bahamas

Polish, Latvian, Portuguese

P&O

Pride of York, Hull-Zeebrugge

$4.45 p.h. (AB grade)

Bahamas

Portuguese, Brazilian, Filipino

P&O

Pride of Hull, Hull-Rotterdam

$4.45 p.h.

(AB grade)

Bahamas

Portuguese, Filipino

P&O

European Causeway, Cairnryan-Larne

€5.36 p.h.

Bahamas

Spanish

Streamline

 

MV Daroja -Aberdeen-Lerwick;

Aberdeen-Kirkwall

€3 p.h.

Cyprus

Latvian, Lithuanian & German (Master)

Irish Ferries

Dublin-Holyhead; Rosslare-Pembroke

£5.55 p.h.

Cyprus, Bahamas & Italy

Estonian & Polish

Stena Line

Britannica, Harwich-Hook of Holland

$3.98 p.h. (steward)

UK

Filipino

DFDS

King Seaways, Newcastle – Ijmuiden

$2.63 p.h. (Cabin Steward)

Danish Int’l Ship Register

Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Filipino

Cobelfret

Mazarine, London (Anchorage)-Rotterdam

€4.11 p.h.

Malta

Russian

Cobelfret

MV Wilhelmine, Tilbury-Zeebrugge

£5.30 p.h.

Malta

Ukrainian

 

[1] Non-UK nationalities being paid below the UK National Living Wage of £7.50.

 


[1] Non-UK nationalities being paid below the UK National Living Wage of £7.50.

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Tagged with: sos2020, european maritime day of action, seafarers