SOS 2020 CAMPAIGN RAMPS UP

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december :: RMTnews 20 RMT held a protest recent under the banner ‘Aberdeen – port of shame’ over poverty pay on the Northern Isles Seatruck Ferry Services and in the offshore sector. Non-EU nationals working on the Serco-run services are paid £3.66 an hour according to the latest figures obtained by the union. RMT members gathered at Aberdeen Harbour to hold a demonstration alongside a Seatruck vessel - which is working on the Northern Isles Ferry Service contract. Activists also protested alongside the detained MV Malaviya Seven offshore supply vessel in Aberdeen in what RMT described as a “blatant example of modern day slavery”. The International Transport Federation and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) detained the vessel in the country’s oil capital to secure pay and benefits for fifteen foreign nationals. None of the crew members have been paid for almost two months while several have not received a penny from their employer for several months. The protest then moved onto Torry, Aberdeen where there was a noisy and colourful demonstration outside the offices of Callum McCaig SNP MP and Maureen Watt SNP MSP. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was a scandal that ships of shame were sailing out of Aberdeen, with workers on poverty rates that make a mockery of the legal minimum wage, under a contract that is under the control of the SNP administration. He said that the seizure of the vessel had exposed the scandal of modern day slavery on ships. “These ships of shame are a blatant abuse of migrant workers and are contrary to any number of stated industry and government objectives around human rights. “It is also a catalyst for the dumping of UK seafarers, many thousands of whom are now drawing benefit from the state. “We’ve lost over 1,000 seafarer jobs in the offshore supply vessel (OSV) sector, mainly through the flouting of employment, equality and visa law,” he said. In Liverpool RMT activists protested as Princess Anne christened the giant Atlantic Sea ship at the cruise liner terminal to demand that shipping bosses at the Atlantic Container Line (ACL) firm employ more British seafarers. At present the new vessel and the rest of the fleet of new ships do not have any British seafarers working on board. The Atlantic Sea is one of five new vessels ACL has commissioned to double its capacity on sea routes from Liverpool to North America. The union has said that the government’s policy was to double the amount of tonnage registered under the UK Flag by 2020. RMT national secretary Steve Todd said that it could be a golden opportunity to rebuild UK seafarer numbers and preserve the trade for future generations. “Shipping bosses cannot be allowed to employ the cheapest labour they can find in a race to the bottom to secure profits, while they destroy the domestic shipping industry, all the under the UK Flag. “It is vital for the future of the seafaring industry in this country that there are UK seafarer jobs and training on UK Flagged ships, in addition to onshore jobs in maritime business and port services,” national secretary Steve Todd. RMT Parliamentary group chair Ian Mearns MP has tabled Early Day Motion 231to highlight the government’s failure to prevent job losses amongst UK seafarers on OSVs or their replacement with low cost seafarers on scandalous rates of pay as low as £2 per hour. A vessel has also been detained by MCA surveyors in Cardiff, Wales after it was discovered the crew had not SOS 2020 CAMPAIGN RAMPS UP Union holds protests across the country against lack of shipping jobs, low pay and poor conditions