31 March 2025
RMT Press Office:
Seafarers’ union RMT has slammed Foreland and parent company Hadley Shipping for pushing real-terms pay cuts onto maritime staff while raking in profits from a lucrative Ministry of Defence contract.
Foreland Shipping operates the Strategic Sealift Service under a long-running Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal with the MoD.
Originally set to run for 25 years, the contract was extended in December 2024 to 2031 at a total value of £476 million.
The company’s profits have been stable and substantial over the past two decades, with over £154 million in profits and nearly £130 million paid out in dividends to shareholders since 2002.
However, RMT members working aboard Foreland’s Point-Class vessels have faced stagnating wages.
Since 2020, pay awards have fallen more than 10% behind RPI inflation and significantly trail national earnings benchmarks.
The latest offer was firmly rejected by seafarers, who are now demanding a fair pay rise that reflects the company’s financial strength.
Meanwhile, Hadley Shipping’s top-paid director saw a 52% pay increase in 2023, taking home £636,878.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said:
“This is a textbook case of profit hoarding and exploitation.
“Foreland Shipping’s owners have raked in massive profits and dividends off the back of a publicly funded MoD contract.
“However the very seafarers keeping that contract afloat are being left behind.
“For over two decades, shareholders and executives have cashed in while allowing our members’ wages to fall in real terms.
“If the company can afford millions in dividends, it can afford to give our seafarers a decent pay rise.”
The union argues that the situation reflects a wider failure in public-private partnerships, where private interests pocket public money while workers shoulder the strain.
Mr Dempsey added: “RMT is calling on both Foreland Shipping and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that the long-term public investment in this contract translates into fair treatment and decent pay for the seafarers who do the important work to make the service possible.”
END
Notes to Editors:
• The Strategic Sealift PFI contract was extended by Ministers in 2024 to December 2031. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/global-strategic-sealift-contract-secures-military-operations
• Dividends have consumed nearly 84% of Foreland Shipping’s total profits since 2002.
• The company’s pay awards have consistently underperformed inflation and national earnings since 2020.
• RMT members have rejected the company’s latest pay offer and are demanding action.
Foreland Shipping is owned by Hadley Shipping Group
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