ISLE OF MAN AGREEMENT

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2011 :: RMTnews 6 R MT regional organiser John Tilley met with Nautilus, the Isle of Man Ship Registry run by the Manx government and the Isle of Man Shipping Association to sign an updated Declaration of Principles, incorporating the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). The agreement “recognises the importance of ensuring decent living and working conditions for seafarers of all nationalities and wherever domiciled when serving on Manx ships”. It also protects seafarers against breaches of labour standards and violations of freedom of association and the right to organise and collective bargaining. John Tilley welcomed the agreement. “The Isle of Man Registry has pledged to ensure that the rights of seafarers are protected on ships flying its flag wherever they may be in the world,” he said. RMT has warned that the UK ferry industry faces a fresh wave of assaults on jobs and services as the economy tilts towards a double-dip recession and operators seize the opportunity to axe and curtail routes to protect their profits. The warning comes after Stena Line announced that it is planning to axe the fast ferry service between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire and to restrict the route to a seasonal service only. Stena claim that the move is in response to rising operational costs and falling volumes despite giving previous assurances to the union that they had no plans to cut the services. RMT is demanding an extended consultation period, rather than the cursory 30 days proposed by the company, to reflect both the number of staff at risk - at least 88 and with the union forecasting over a hundred - and to allow time to evaluate Stena’s grounds for the cuts. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that there was no doubt that the Stena proposal across the Irish Sea was just an early warning of an all-out assault on jobs and services in the UK ferry industry that is about to let rip as we head into the winter months. “RMT believes that operators are cynically planning to use the threat of a double-dip recession to dump routes and fatten up their balance sheets. “We also have a massive threat to services still on the cards in Scotland, and the Isle of Man Steam Packet is a constant target for predators seeking to undermine that route. RMT will continue to fight every attempt to decimate the UK ferry industry.” RMT National Secretary Steve Todd said that the union was angry and disappointed at the way that the Stena announcement has been handled. “They told us face to face that they had no plans to cut these services and then bounced the news out at short notice. “Their grounds are flimsy in the extreme - fuel costs are falling, they recently negotiated a new and favourable deal with Dun Laoghaire Harbour and they should have picked up addition freight volume from the closure of the Liverpool- Dublin service. “We want both an extended consultation period to reflect the number of jobs involved and the complexity of the situation and we want a cast iron guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies,” he said. ISLE OF MAN AGREEMENT NEW JOBS ASSAULT ON UK FERRIES Stena confirms plans to axe Holyhead/Dun Laoghaire services to protect profits