WHERE HAVE ALL THE RATINGS GONE?

www.rmt.org.uk :: july/august 2006 :: RMTnews 13 RMT’s Parliamentary Group has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) incorporating both the Race Relations Act and the National Minimum Wage and attracted 62 signatures. EDM 2191, proposed by Gywn Prosser MP seeks to highlight the continued exemption for seafarers rates of pay contained in the 1976 Race Relations Act and the fact that the National Minimum Wage is only applied in UK internal waters and not UK territorial waters. Early Day Motion 200 on the tonnage tax, which was tabled last year, is also still current and has now received 92 signatures. Shipping Minister David Ladyman has also agreed to participate in a Parliamentary Group Maritime Seminar on addressing low pay on UK ships to be organised at the start of the autumn Parliamentary session. RMT proposed to the previous Shipping Minister that as a way of breaking the deadlock on this matter a tonnage tax training and employment link could be concluded just for the domestic sector. The union has written again setting out this proposal which would involve companies entering the tonnage tax scheme within the domestic sectors committing to at least retain the existing number of UK seafaring ratings on the same number of ships for the duration of their time period in the scheme. For those companies that do not employ UK seafaring ratings, they would commit to a minimum training and employment as discussed within the employment sub-group. There is no doubt that the shipping industry is in crisis. On the one hand, we can’t get jobs for our members, on the other we can get members for the jobs. Over the last six months or so I have been inundated by requests from employers to supply ratings. Even the agencies such as Sealife and more prominently Clyde Marine are frequently requesting our assistance to find suitable ratings for employment. We circulate these requests to all shipping Branch Secretaries and all Regional Offices with little or no response. One has to be cynical and ask the question is there a huge shortage of ratings, or is it a deliberate attempt to further encourage the demise of the British seafarer. Don’t tell me that in the last three years those 3000 seafarers made redundant in various companies have suddenly disappeared into thin air, I think not! The real danger we face is that if our seafarers don’t come forward for these jobs, we are giving the employers cart blanche to employ other EU nationals. If there is a genuine shortage it further underlines our claim that not enough training and recruitment is taking place. We cannot stress any stronger our concerns to the shipping minister, Steven Ladyman. General Secretary Bob Crow and myself take every opportunity to remind him that its time for action not words. We produced our views in a submission to the government in October last year and it looks like it will be October this year until we get the findings published. In the meantime the industry continues to thrive financially but ratings jobs are beginning to disappear. If you are a seafarer looking for work, please contact Clyde Marine direct and you will be provided with the details of employment opportunities. RMT shipping secretary Steve Todd outlines the jobs crisis in the shipping industry WHERE HAVE ALL THE RATINGS GONE? ACTION ON RACE RELATIONS ACT AND THE TONNAGE TAX SHIPPING