FOR JOBS, PAY AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS ON IRISH FERRIES

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2019 :: RMTnews 19 The protest will be targeting the 0815 sailing of the Cyprus- registered WB Yeats with activists leafleting vehicle and freight passengers as they board the vessel in Holyhead Port in Anglesey. The action will demand seafarer jobs, enforcement of employment law and trade union rights on the £126 million WB Yeats which Irish Ferries has just brought into service on this key commercial ferry route. The union has obtained evidence that a Latvian Ordinary Seaman is paid a basic €5.51 per hour by Irish Ferries. RMT members targeted the sailing to loudly raise the need for pay justice and trade union recognition at this company which is a major threat to the long-term job prospects of Irish and UK ratings. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said Irish Ferries, along with other Irish Sea operators such as Seatruck and P&O consistently flout employment law to cut ratings’ pay below the legal minimum for land- based workers in Eire and the UK. “Scandalously low pay in the shipping industry has driven a fall in UK Ratings of over 60 per cent since the 1980s. Yet there are 87,000 ratings jobs in the UK shipping industry, with demand forecast to grow in the coming years. “RMT is fighting to enable domestic seafarers to compete for these jobs by enforcing Minimum Wage legislation and ending nationality based pay discrimination. “Our fight for pay justice and trade union recognition from these ferry operators is stepping up and we are sending out the clearest possible message to those behind exploitation and union busting in the maritime sector that we are coming for them,” he said. SOLIDARITY: Newly elected Liverpool shipping branch secretary Sean Miskimmon pictured on-board the Stena Lagan with newly elected on-board representative Jason Dean and national secretary Darren Procter following a meeting with members to discuss pay, shipboard organising and recent campaigns within the Irish Sea. Norwegian offshore energy union Industri Energi (IE) and RMT have renewed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue a mutual commitment to work closely together in the North Sea. Industri Energi general secretary Frode Alfheim and national secretary Asle Reime and RMT general secretary Mick Cash and RMT assistant national secretary Mark Carden attended the signing in Liverpool FOR JOBS, PAY AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS ON IRISH FERRIES Social dumping on the Irish Sea sees the exploitation of foreign ratings OFFSHORE UNDERSTANDING