GOVERNMENT REPORT SLAMS PAY DISCRIMINATION FOR SEAFARERS

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: june 2010 :: RMTnews 5 RMT has called on the government to halt wage discrimination in the shipping industry following the publication of a review into the practice of allowing shipping companies to pay lower wages to seafarers recruited from overseas. The government-instigated review into the impact of the Equality Act 2010 concluded that “on the basis of the evidence submitted, I recommend outlawing the practice of nationality-based pay differentials for seafarers’ altogether”. The other option was to continue allowing differential rates of pay to seafarers “but only where such differentiation would not operate to the disadvantage of nationals from an EU state and the difference in rates would correspond to a difference in the cost of living in the places where the seafarers respectively habitually reside”. The current set-up, allowed under 1976 Race Relations Act, has led to widespread ‘social dumping’, the process by which employers bring in exploited foreign labour to displace local workers. RMT has campaigned to end this discrimination which can mean that Filipino and Indian workers employed on ferry routes between two UK ports earn substantially less that the crew they work alongside. The review found that it was not clear why the Race Relations Act allowed wage differentiation on grounds of nationality in the shipping industry. Due to lobbying by ship owners, section nine of the Act permits wage discrimination on the grounds of nationality against a seafarer recruited abroad. The Equality Act 2010 also gives the shipping industry special treatment through the regulation-making power in section 81, which claims that governments should take account of the global practices of the shipping industry. The study concludes that salary equalisation would affect over 15,000 foreign seafarers on UK-registered ships, and would cost employers £259 million a year. The recommendations, written by former civil servant Susan Carter, and known as the Carter review were instantly attacked by the Chamber of Shipping, who blasted them for alleged “breathtaking ignorance”. RMT national secretary for shipping Steve Todd welcomed the report commissioned by the previous government. “We are pleased that it recognizes that the benefits of equality in the long term outweigh additional costs to the ship owners and that there is no reason why the shipping industry should be made a special case,” he said. “We now urge the new government to do the right thing and implement the equality regulations on the basis of the conclusion of this review. “RMT will be seeking an urgent meeting with the government and we trust that the regulations will be implemented at the very earliest opportunity,” he said. GOVERNMENT REPORT SLAMS PAY DISCRIMINATION FOR SEAFARERS RMT calls on government to outlaw pay rates of less than £2 an hour within the UK shipping industry