UK SEAFARER NUMBERS DECLINE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2017 :: RMTnews 15 RMT is demanding government action to halt the continued decline in UK seafarer numbers after the Department for Transport revealed that there were over 87,000 ratings jobs in the UK shipping industry but UK seafarers only accounted for just over 10 per cent of that figure. Although overall UK ratings experienced a tiny net increase of 50, just one per cent, in their number, it masked falls in deck and engine of eight per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The statistics were published in the Seafarer Projection study commissioned by the DfT. UK Seafarer numbers have now fallen by over 60 per cent since 1982 and the number of UK ratings has fallen by 25 per cent since 2011, to 8,830. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the figures demonstrated the deepening crisis facing UK seafarers, a direct result of government and industry’s failure to offer enough job and training opportunities to young people. “Ship owners cut their wage bill by getting rid of UK seafarers because they are able to discriminate against foreign seafarers by paying them less. “Every day seafarers, including those working on vessels chartered as part of a public contact for services between UK Ports continue to be exploited by rates of pay well below the UK minimum whilst shipowners enjoy massive tax breaks and a complete lack of accountability. “The government commissioned Carter Report’s recommendation to end this form of discrimination in the UK shipping industry must be implemented and the Shipping Minister must draw up a timetable to make this happen.” “Earlier this month, we heard Shipping Minister John Hayes tell MPs that more UK seafarers need to be recruited and trained. “We now need concrete actions and targets, in addition to the Maritime Growth Study recommendations to increase the training and employment of UK seafarers. These actions must include a timetable for action to end pay discrimination in the UK shipping industry which is the root cause of this decline,” he said. RMT national secretary Steve Todd said that the UK shipping industry’s recruitment practices of the last decade now see EEA and non-EEA seafarers accounting for 60 per cent of deck, engine and technical and 70 per cent of hospitality ratings jobs. “As it stands, it is clear that seafarers in this country will not replace the thousands of UK Ratings expected to retire over the next decade, despite a forecast increase in demand for Ratings in the UK shipping industry to 2026. “Ending pay discrimination, enforcing the National Minimum Wage and fast tracking maritime apprenticeships must be enacted by the time the next Seafarer Statistics are released or we will be a maritime nation in decline,” he said. The Maritime Apprenticeship Trailblazer Working Group was established in 2014 involving employers, maritime unions and training providers. So far only a Deck Rating Apprenticeship has been agreed by government but lack of government agreement continues to block a Maritime Caterer Apprenticeship. Standards for Engine, Electro-technical and On-board Service Ratings are also still only in development. The Apprenticeship Levy which will fund all Trailblazer Apprenticeships comes into effect in April. UK SEAFARER NUMBERS DECLINE Union calls for action to end pay discrimination in the shipping industry, the root cause of the decline in UK jobs