FLOATEL VICTORY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2021 :: RMTnews 6 Following a long RMT campaign Swedish offshore accommodation company Floatel has agreed to sign an ITF agreement with Swedish trade union SEKO as instructed and will employ UK Ratings in 36 out of 39 positions on the vessel Floatel Victory. In addition, the pay and employment conditions of the 17 UK catering Ratings onboard will be covered under the Caterers Offshore Trade Association (COTA) national agreement to which the RMT is a signatory. The pay for Motorman and AB grades on the ship have also been uplifted, in line with the RMT’s demand. In 2019, the Union raised concerns over low-cost crewing on Floatel’s fleet, particularly the Bermudan-flagged Floatel Victory after it had been awarded a contract by INEOS in the oil and gas sector of the UK continental shelf (UKCS). Bermuda is a Flag of Convenience register. Filipino ratings on Floatel’s ships are paid below the National Minimum Wage, have no access to National Insurance or auto-enrolment pension schemes and lack other basic employment rights which should be automatically enforced for UK seafarers. The INEOS contract for the Floatel Victory was due to start in 2020 but was postponed by the Coronavirus pandemic until April 2021. Following further discussion with Norwegian Union IndustriEnergi, it was confirmed that the company intended to crew the vessel with Filipino ratings. As a result, the RMT national secretary Darren Procter met with Floatel to inform them that they should comply with the ITF Offshore Policy by signing an ITF agreement with their local ITF affiliate, the Swedish seafarers union SEKO. The employer was also reminded that since October 2020, the UK National Minimum Wage is the legal base for seafarer pay on the UKCS. RMT also requested that Floatel negotiate with RMT over crewing on their vessels whenever they win contracts for work on the UKCS. There is more work to be done to improve Ratings’ pay and conditions on Floatel and other vessels working in the offshore sector but these contractual improvements put seafarers well above the exploitative rates advertised in the sector by unscrupulous crewing agents. The inclusion of the catering crew under RMT’s national collective agreement for offshore caterers (COTA) is also a major step forward. FLOATEL VICTORY: Picture shows the platform 'Floatel Superior' off the Norwegian coast FLOATEL VICTORY Union wins jobs and pay increase for UK ratings at offshore accommodation company Floatel