RMT PAYS TRIBUTE TO RFA MEMBERS

4 T he union paid tribute to the humanitarian principles that RMT members continue to uphold on seas across the world following news that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) tanker Wave Knight had delivered 75 tonnes of humanitarian aid to stricken residents of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent following a major volcanic eruption earlier this year. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch paid tribute to the professionalism and dedication of all RFA seafarers in performing lightening stops to transport the food, water, medicine and construction material that the people of St. Vincent need to get through this traumatic disaster. “I would also like to pay tribute to those seafarers, including RMT ratings, on the UK flagged MV Anvil Point who rescued 25 people in distress off the West Saharan coast this month. “We are in turbulent times politically but RMT is proud of our seafarers who continue to uphold the vital principles of humanitarian relief and rescue at sea,” he said. The union also welcomed the contract for three new Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships as RFA vessels Fort Austin and Fort Rosalie are over forty years old and RFA members will be relieved that the process for awarding the contract to build three new Fleet Solid Support Ships has finally begun. “As well as awarding this contract to shipbuilders and the maritime supply chain in the UK, it is essential that these ships, when they are commissioned continue to be crewed with civilian Ratings and Officers and are covered by the RMT Collective Bargaining Agreement. "This is an important development, and we hope that this is the first in a number of MoD contracts that support UK seafarers and shipbuilding,” Mick Lynch said. HUMANITARIAN: RFA Wave Knight Replenishment Vessel in the Port of Liverpool, built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering VSEL Barrow-in-Furness R MT has been striving to achieve recognition with Gyrodata, a company in the energy industry, since late 2019 following a recruitment campaign and an electronic survey of over thirty Survey Specialist members. Whilst the union was able to secure an initial meeting with the company where an agreement in principle was reached, talks and negotiations were affected by the ongoing global pandemic. However, following a period of consultation for a number of redundancies with the company, RMT was able to secure another meeting with the company in November to ensure that the process of negotiating recognition was restarted. As a result the union was able to achieve a recognition agreement that gained the full support of members based at Gyrodata. The union’s national executive committee placed on record their thanks to the lead officer and all involved in securing another important Collective Bargaining Agreement for offshore members.  RMT PAYS TRIBUTE TO RFA MEMBERS RECOGNITION AT GYRODATA RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2021 :: RMTnews