PARLIAMENTARY COLUMN

9 With BAE System’s closure of its Portsmouth shipyard, England has lost the capacity to build ships bringing to an end another vital manufacturing industry, in this case after 500 years. That this government is able to cut so casually this vital capacity and the livelihoods of the workers and their families is nothing short of a national scandal. It is also a scandal that the UK stands on the brink of losing the capacity to actually operate ships. Over 70 per cent of UK ratings are 40 years or older and the majority of the 10,000 or so currently in work will retire before the end of the decade. UK officers are of a similar age profile and, although supported by the Tonnage Tax training scheme and SMarT funding, the annual rate of trainees remains below that required to avoid a similar fate beyond 2020. Yet we heard nothing of this crisis for seafarers during London International Shipping Week in September. Despite the glitz and glamour of meetings with the Prime Minister, his rival the Mayor of London and global shipping financiers, the UK shipping industry and the government are living in a fantasy world if they regard the national maritime skills base as irrelevant to their pursuit of profit. Indeed, veteran maritime industry journalist Michael Grey’s comment in Lloyd’s List in November is worth repeating: “Only a deluded lunatic could suggest any pretence of the UK being a maritime nation today. Our mariners are few and...their morale is shot to bits. Nobody in government really seems to care that ships that fly the Red Ensign are manned by foreign crews and mostly owned abroad”. The extent of government collusion in the demise of the UK as a seafaring nation was revealed recently in the official UK Register newsletter, Flagging Up which outlined how the UK flag is sold to prospective ship owners, insurers and financiers: “Many prospective customers were unaware the UK Flag offered services equal in responsiveness to Flags of Convenience, but at a significantly lower cost”. UK Register official Tom Borland also helpfully outlined just how keen the Government is to take ships on to the register with no regard to the composition of the crew other than cost: “We are a customer focused Flag and are here to support industry and its commercial operation whilst enhancing maritime safety and environmental protection.” But before anyone bangs on about the success of the Tonnage Tax in expanding the UK registered fleet, let’s always remember that shipping companies have enjoyed a net tax break of over £750m (so far) in return for a small growth in the number of UK officer trainees and nothing for ratings. Vessels that fly flags of convenience, including Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, qualify for this tax break. The failure to extend the Equality Act protections from pay discrimination to all seafarers and the lack of enforcement of the National Minimum Wage continue to combine with the paltry provision from the Tonnage Tax to drive down the number of jobs for UK seafarers. There is also a threat to jobs from the impending regulations seeking to cap sulphur emissions from shipping. As an MP for a busy passenger ferry port, I am acutely aware of the need to veto these regulations. I also continue to support RMT’s call for the Tonnage Tax to contain a mandatory link to UK ratings training. I recently tabled a motion to highlight the ongoing campaign to revitalise the UK maritime skills base through more training and jobs for UK ratings. The motion signals the start of a period of concerted pressure on the government to heed the calls of seafarers for more training and jobs. RMT’s Parliamentary group has meetings coming up with the Shipping Minister and the Chamber of Shipping and we will do our utmost, in tandem with RMT officials, to secure a better deal for UK seafarers. Karl Turner is MP for Hull East SHIP OF FOOLS Parliamentary column RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2013 :: RMTnews O ver 150 delegates met in Dundee for the Scottish TUC women’s conference in November to oppose violence against women and zero hours contracts and to call for rail nationalisation and universal childcare. The women’s committee also elected RMT member Ann Joss as chairwoman for a year, only the second time a NUR/RMT member was elected to the position in 86 years. Delegates agreed that public ownership of rail could be used to create more favourable conditions for improving equality and diversity in the railway industry as a result of the benefits of direct public control and greater democratic accountability. Conference also agreed that when domestic abuse occurred employees often didn’t know where to turn for advice and called on the Scottish government to encourage every employer to have a mandatory domestic abuse policy. Delegates were’ deeply concerned’ at the increased use of zero hours contracts and the use of the ‘Swedish derogation’ used by agencies in EU law to evade paying staff decent wages. Conference called on the Scottish government to ensure that zero hours contracts are not used by public bodies for the UK government to ban their use. Delegates heard that parents in Scotland faced some of the highest childcare costs in the UK and agreed high-quality childcare had a vital role to play in tackling child poverty. Conference further agreed that universal childcare should be a cornerstone of future Scottish governments. STUC WOMEN MEET IN DUNDEE