SHIPPING UNITY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2014 :: RMTnews 15 Ratings union RMT and shipping officers’ union Nautilus International have agreed to work together more closely in companies where both unions have members. The agreement comes following discussions between RMT general secretary Bob Crow and Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson and the announcement of RMT's offshore campaign and Nautilus International's ferry campaign. RMT national secretary Steve Todd and Nautilus International ferry organiser Micky Smyth (pictured) have worked with each other on various occasions over the past 20 years. Both were keen to link up again to tackle the problems members face in the ferry industry. “Both unions face similar if not the same problems and working together can only benefit the members of both unions,” said Steve Todd. RMT has revealed that members of the Merchant Navy Rating Pension Fund (MNRPF) are missing the opportunity to increase their pension entitlement due to the fact that pre 1978 Service Credits were being incorrectly calculated. RMT’s Liverpool shipping branch asked the union write to the MNRPF trustee board requesting that they inform members of their possible entitlement to these credits. These credits were established as a result of a surplus in the MNRPF in the mid 1980’s with the aim to provide scheme members with some form of pension provision for Merchant Navy service before the MNRPF commenced in 1978. These benefits are in the form of fixed pension additions for each year of pre 1978 service, increased while a member remains in service to help protect their real value from inflation. Service also counts for those individuals who were on the Merchant Navy Establishment Register (the Pool) during their working life but remained a member of the MNRPF. Pre 1978 Service Credits are awarded in the form of an annual pension with the possible option to exchange for a tax free lump sum payment subject to the usual limits. Members can receive in the region of £400 annual pension pro-rata for each year of pre- 1978 Service Credits. The union also submitted an appeal on behalf of an RMT member through the MNRPF Informal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP) requesting that the trustees reconsider his award of five years Pre 1978 Service Credits and increase this award to the maximum eight years. The appeal was based on the fact that the trustee and fund administrator had not counted all employment service as continuous. Although the member had a break of more than 12 months his sea career had started in 1965 and therefore his total service was in excess of the eight years maximum credit award. There were also some inconsistencies with the MNRPF rules as a result of changes that appear to have been made in the 1990s. As a result, over the coming months, fund administrators will be checking members’ details to ensure that they receive their full service credits. Some members may be contacted as the administrators may need more data. If concerned members have not heard anything by June they should contact the administrator, Ensign Pensions Administration through the members’ website at www.mnrpf.co.uk T he International Federation of Transport Workers (ITF) won around £100,000 unpaid wages on behalf of the crew of the Marshall Islands-flagged merchant ship Isis, moored at Tilbury, Essex. The U-turn by the company came after the ITF threatened to arrest the ship and sent a written warning to Athens- based company Derna Carriers over its negligence and evasion of its responsibilities. ITF UK and Ireland coordinator Ken Fleming explained that a visit to the Isis with newly-appointed ITF inspector Darren Procter to the ship revealed that crew members had been unpaid for months. As a result of their actions Derna Carriers has paid the outstanding wages as well as repatriation costs. “The ship’s flag state, the Marshall Islands register, has been supportive of the efforts to see the crew receive what is owed to them, and deserve recognition for it. “I would also like to applaud the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) for its clear and frank position that this is not the kind of behaviour it expects from a shipowner and that seafarers should not have to go without pay,” said Ken Fleming. SHIPPING UNITY MERCHANT NAVY PENSION VICTORY RMT shipping members that have served in the Merchant fleet may be entitled to hundreds of pounds in pension payments ITF INSPECTORS WIN UNPAID WAGES