SHIPPING NEWS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2012 :: RMTnews F irstly I am pleased to report that the International Transport Federation (ITF) has re-launched the international ratings forum which will be getting to grips with issues affecting ratings on ships around the world. Henrik Berlau of the Danish shippers union 3F was elected chair and I was elected vice-chair. One of the main issues facing the union is defending jobs. Stena Line announced earlier this year that it wanted to cut jobs on some of its routes in the Irish Sea due to the downturn in passenger and vehicle traffic on some of the less busy sailings. Several meetings with myself, the Stena national port committee and the company have taken place and, after months of speculation, ‘sample rosters’ were produced. These so-called rosters, if implemented, would have destroyed the whole concept of time on, time off despite original assurances that this would not be the case. Members were understandably outraged and the union was inundated with requests for a ballot. Although we produced the matrix and it’s still a live option, the company has withdrawn those rosters, saying "they were never going to use them, they were purely for illustration purposes". As far as the union is concerned they were unacceptable, unworkable, unsafe and shows a complete disregard for our members. If they are produced again we will have no hesitation in balloting for all out industrial action. Yes the company has problems, as does every ferry operator. RMT is prepared to examine other options provided it does not impact on the hard- earned terms and conditions of our members. Amongst the other options being examined are closing some outlets on busier periods, rostering leave in less busier periods and the possibility of allowing a limited number of people to consider voluntary redundancy. Similar problems face another major ferry operator P&O. There were fears recently when all trade unions were summoned to Channel House to receive this news that lower capacity on crossings was having an effect on the business. There were no announcements of job losses and cuts to terms and conditions but it’s clear the company is looking to make savings wherever possible. I think all the unions who attended are committed to finding solutions provided they do not impact on terms and conditions and jobs. P&O made a lot about the company's rising pension costs and commitments and it appears to me a lot of that blame was directed towards the new additional costs to the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF) following the recent court case which P&O lost and now find themselves having to find millions to pay back. But before blaming MNRPF they need to look at themselves long and hard, because had they continued paying their original amount of contributions they might not have been in this situation. That said there are problems which we as a responsible union are prepared to work with the company to resolve. NORTHLINK Members will recall the ballot we conducted earlier this year following Serco's acquisition of the Northern Isles ferry services. The company gave assurances that current pension provisions would be honoured and the existing machinery including consultation and negotiation prior to any changes being made. Just months later the company announced that due to lower demand it wanted to reduce its passenger carrying certificate (PC)which would allow ships to carry less crew. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency(MCA) agreed to this – funny thing is they always do – without consulting the union in any way. RMT will have to work on this politically to get the need for them to do so enshrined in law. Then Serco announce that they need 36 less catering staff (OBS) claiming that this complies with the safety levels. However this doesn't meet with what our members believe to be acceptable levels of staffing. Moreover where was the consultation and negotiation that was supposed to happen before changes were to be made? Therefore the ballot is back on. It is clear the ferry sector is facing a difficult situation as a result of the under capacity usage as a result of the recession. The loss of duty- freeacross the Channel and the opening of the tunnel have had a severe impact. Now if this useless European Union legislation on Carbon emissions is brought into force in the next couple of years it will have a devastating effect on the industry. FORELAND/BIBBYS Foreland operates six strategic RO/RO's for the Ministry of Defence and it has advised the management company Bibbys that the government wants to sell of two ships as the scaling down of British armed forces in many conflict areas continues. However the full complement of ships has never been used in military style operations, two of them have been gainfully employed on commercial charters in the Baltic and they are now on long-term charters in the North Sea. Moreover in the case of emergencies they are available to supplement the UK fleet instead of chartering foreign- flag ships to move troops and equipment, so why offer these for sale? There are no imminent plans to make anyone redundant whilst the ships remain working, so there is no need to start negotiations over such matters and in any case we would be looking for suitable alternative employment for our members. If there any signs of them being sold we are ready to move. Finally on pensions, after lobbying the government seafarers are now included in new pension auto-enrolment requirements. The larger employers will have to comply first and the ones with fewer employees latter. None the less we have written to all shipping companies and asked them for their plans and time tables and we will keep you all advised accordingly. 23 SHIPPING NEWS National Secretary Steve Todd deals with issues facing shippers