No more tiers

J OHN MORAN of Liverpool shipping branch was “socially dumped” in 1999 when he was replaced by low-paid foreign crew but had since found agency work. “I get no sick pay but the man working next to me does. “I work alongside people on better terms conditions than me, that is the reality of temporary work, he said.” Conference agreed that where such disparities exist, the union should negotiate to bring all employees onto the highest rate. Jimmy McAuley of Glasgow shipping branch said that agency workers were being treated as third-class citizens which caused instability at work and at home. Jack Whitehead of Portsmouth branch warned that if the erosion of conditions for agency staff was tolerated then the standards for full-time staff would inevitably be under threat. Mark Winchester of Dover branch also warned that the recent acquisitions of P&O vessels and routes by Stena Line posed serious threats to national terms and conditions due to the introduction of low- paid foreign crew. “The answer must be to organise all ratings employed on these vessels and fight for parity,” he said. Peter Hall of the shipping committee said he had just returned from the Stena Line Works Council and it was clear that the company was simply not informing workers when they took on non-domiciled seafarers on lower rates. Derogations Conference agreed that derogations given to non-EU seafarers to work by the Maritime Coastguard Agency could not be justified. Mark Winchester said that such derogations undermined conditions and, given the enlargement of the EU, must be terminated. Conference called on the union to pressurise the Scottish Executive to abandon the damaging tendering of Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services. Andy Gordon of Aberdeen said that the moves, demanded by European Union law, were nothing more than the back-door privatisation of an essential lifeline. National shipping secretary Steve Todd said that the union had joined with the Scottish TUC to demand an end to the sell- off. Conference called for legal action to be taken through the European courts, bearing in mind the recent legal decision on Altmark, which allowed the German state to support bus services despite EU laws on state aid. Neil Keith of Aberdeen said that if Cal Mac was made the preferred bidder the transaction could be seen as a new company takeover, leaving employees vulnerable. “We need to ensure that TUPE applies if any transfers take place,” he said. Mark Winchester of Dover warned that TUPE was not a cure-all and would not automatically protect conditions. “We need to strengthen TUPE and have no illusions that your conditions are untouchable, they are not,” he said. Conference agreed that the issue of Cal Mac tendering would be taken to the union’s AGM. Andy Gordon of Aberdeen said that if members wanted to know what would happen at Cal Mac under privatisation then look at no further the privatised NorthLink ferries, serving north east Scotland. “There are nine different wage rates at NorthLink and the development of a multi- tier workforce,” he said. Conference agreed to investigate the multi-tier pay rates at NorthLink, which was still receiving public subsidies. Conference called for the union to campaign with Numast and the Chamber of Shipping to halt the attack on Foreign Earnings Deductions(FED) by Inland Revenue. It was agreed to seek to extend FED to UK seafarers engaged in coastal shipping as recommended in the governments’ 1998 document ‘charting a new course’. Malcolm Dunning warned that FED was now being deemed illegal under EU laws on state aid. Conference applauded the efforts of the organising unit in increasing the membership of the union. Andy Gordon of Aberdeen said that more work needed to be done in the shipping sector. “We need a recruitment strategy that highlights the advantages of union membership to non- members in the shipping industry,” he said. Jack Whitehead said that recruitment was a difficult job it was necessary for the union get behind the organising team. Mark Winchester of Dover said that it was important not only to recruit workers but to motivate them and make them feel a part of the trade-union movement. Donald Graham of the organising unit explained the union’s strategy, which involved assisting branches to actively recruit and organise members. He said that the unit would be writing to shipping branches to arrange meetings to discuss recruitment and how to build local structures to represent members. He said that there was no place for industrial snobbery within the RMT. “Whatever your grade, whatever your job, you are an equal member of the union,” he said. NO TO TIERS CONCERNS over the development of two or more-tier workforces on UK ships were recurring themes of the 2004 Biennial General Meeting of docks and shipping grades in Portsmouth last month. National shipping secretary Steve Todd John McDonnell MP: crisis in the shipping industry 14 Conference rejected the concept of employing a recruiter just for the shipping grades as it contradicted the industrial multi-grade basis of the union. Re-convene in parliament Conference called upon the union to reconvene the BGM for a shipping conference in parliament in line with a suggestion by John McDonnell MP in order to deepen understanding amongst polititians of the crisis in the shipping industry. John made the suggestion during his parliamentary report to conference. He said that the new parliamentary group had been very effective and had even increased in size since RMT’s expulsion from the Labour Party earlier this year. He said that the group met monthly with the union leadership to discuss developments and how to react and to plan long-term policy goals. “We have been campaigning on shipping issues such as on the repeal of section nine of the Race Relations Act. “We now have the bizarre situation where shipowners cannot discriminate on the grounds of race but can pay lower wages on the grounds of nationality,” he said. However, he pointed out that, due to the RMT group’s campaigning, the government was committed to a review in the future. He said that employment rights was another important area of work, considering there is was legal right to strike in the UK. He said that the tide was turning against the Blair clique within the labour movement. He said that many former loyalists were beginning to realise the damage being done to the Labour Party over the last seven years in the run-up to the next election. G Conference agreed that the union should consider organising an RMT P&O ferry committee. Chris Fuller of Dover said that such a committee would fight the employers’ tactic of divide and rule. Steve Todd said that the union was setting up a national ferry port committee that would encompass all ferry companies. “The union will be assisting all reps to get together,” he said. G Conference expressed concern that no representative of the International Transport Workers’ Federation addressed the meeting and resolved to invite such a speaker to BGMs in the future. G Conference expressed concern at the lack of progress of some previous conference decisions and called on the shipping committee and the liaison committee to carry out their democratic functions. G Conference called for all port committees to have a relevant constitution that complies with the aims and policies of the union. THE problems facing the shipping industry are similar to those in other transport sectors, most of which derive from the drive for profit, Bob Crow told conference. This was the main characteristic of the process of so-called globalisation is the struggle between those who want to maximise profits and those defending their pay and conditions. One of the major obstacles in defending workers was the implementation of European Union directives which demand the privatisation of ferry services like Cal Mac. The term used to demand such moves is ‘liberalisation’ which suggests freedom. But it is only freedom for bankers and big business not for those which work on those services. In fact, it means cuts for these people, cuts in wages, pensions and conditions. We clearly need to protect our members’ conditions and organise workers. The union was bringing in two relief national district organisers and expanding the organising unit to strengthen that work in the shipping, docks and offshore sectors. RMT is also working closely with the oil workers union OILC. This organisation is not a ‘breakaway’ union, as some have claimed, but operates on a principled basis. The union should pay tribute to leader of the RMT parliamentary group, John MacDonnell MP, for the work he has done to represent shipping members in parliament. He and the group continues to work hard to represent the union despite RMT expulsion from the Labour Party. In fact, the number of MPs involved had increased. Union membership had also increased by over 3,000 since RMT had been expelled. We have made clear that the RMT is no longer prepared to give money and support to those who do not support the aims and policies of union. Defend and extend union rights Mark Winchester of Dover branch Bob Crow presents Mike Tosh of Portsmouth branch with a richly-deserved 25 years’ badge UNITED: Delegates to the 2004 Biennial General Meeting of shipping and docks grades 15