NORTHLINK FERRY CONTRACT SCANDAL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2015 :: RMTnews 20 RMT is demanding a public inquiry into the privatisation of the NorthLink ferries contract in 2012 after the Shetland Times revealed that the public sector bid – tabled by Caledonian MacBrayne and thought to be cheaper than Serco who won the contract - was returned unopened. The union said that the murky events cast a shadow over the tendering of CalMac lifeline ferry services to the Clyde and Hebrides, which is currently underway, and which the trade union movement is fighting tooth and nail. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was no surprise that CalMac’s bid would have been cheaper than Serco’s – the SNP government whacked up the public subsidy to Serco by nearly £40 million (around 20 per cent) when it privatised the contract in May 2012. This allowed Serco to trumpet to the London Stock Exchange the winning of a £350 million contract for Northern Isles ferry services. “For Transport Scotland to have been found treating the public sector bid with such blatant contempt will not go down well with those seafarers who were made redundant following Serco’s take over, not to mention their colleagues who would have seen their pensions raided had Serco not backed down when faced with RMT’s intention to take industrial action over members’ pensions” he said. Transport Scotland took the first legal step in re-tendering the £1 billion contract for Clyde and Hebrides ferry services (CHFS) in March, effectively announcing the start of a competition between the private sector and CalMac for these lifeline public services. CalMac workers and passengers learnt that the next operator, from October 2016 would be in position for up to eight years, although the winning bidder would not be announced until after the Scottish Parliamentary elections [see table below], raising the possibility that CalMac will be privatised by the SNP. SNP Minister for Transport and Islands Derek Mackay made clear in a press release that he supports the expensive and unpopular re-tender of Scottish ferry services. “We are looking to award a contract that runs for a period up to eight years. “This will make it more attractive to potential bidders by giving the operator more opportunity to deliver service improvements and efficiencies over the course of the contract,” he wrote. RMT and other CalMac unions are familiar with this government’s manipulation of Scottish ferries policy, going back to the postponement of the original tender in autumn 2012, NORTHLINK FERRY CONTRACT SCANDAL Scottish SNP government returns cheaper public sector bid for Orkney and Shetland ferry services unopened