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