VOLUNTARY SEAFARER AGREEMENT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2023 :: RMTnews 9 A voluntary bilateral agreement was signed in Paris between France and the United Kingdom in July over seafarer employment and welfare standards. RMT urged the two governments to get serious about creating and enforcing minimum rules to rescue the failing ferries sector. The UK government also launched a voluntary seafarers’ charter following P&O’s illegal sacking of hundreds of workers and replacing them with cheap agency labour. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the agreement recognised the threat that unlawful operators like P&O Ferries continue to represent to seafarers across the UK and Europe. “We need mandatory employment standards to grow jobs for our Ratings and Officers on short sea shipping routes from all UK ports, including to France. RMT looks forward to working on delivering fair pay and a new deal for this country’s seafarers, consistent with the trade union rights of French seafarers on international routes, when the voluntary seafarers charter is reviewed after the next General Election. “Now it’s over to P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries, crewing agents and other shipowners to confirm whether they will or will not comply with the seafarers’ charter, including the two week on two week off roster pattern,” he said. European Transport Federation general secretary Livia Spera reiterated the need for mandatory standards and sectoral collective bargaining rights. “The solution proposed by France and the UK is based on a voluntary agreement by companies to follow the ‘rules.’ This is not enough, as it does not force companies to be compliant and it does not establish enforcement mechanisms.” “This agreement will not unpick the effect of P&O Ferries’ attack on its own workforce in 2022, when the company unlawfully dismissed 800 seafarers and violated their rights. “It remains to be seen if P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries, crewing agents and other shipowners would decide to comply with what was agreed by the two countries. “From our perspective, the focus needs to be on eradicating substandard working conditions and re- establishing decent standards and rights through legislation and collective bargaining,” she said. Bilateral agreements with other nations on short sea shipping routes from the UK were part of the government’s Nine Point Plan in response to P&O Ferries and DP World’s unlawful sackings sixteen months ago. R MT marked the 35th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster which claimed the lives of 165 offshore oil and gas workers and two seafarers who were part of the emergency response on July 6, 1988. RMT Scotland’s Regional Council laid a wreath at the memorial in Hazelhead Park, Aberdeen to mark the event. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that Piper Alpha remained a symbol of the threat poorly regulated, profit- hungry operators can pose to the lives of offshore workers and their families. "The loss of those 167 workers resulted in much needed improvements to the laws governing health and safety offshore. One change was the legal requirement to establish safety representatives and safety committees elected by offshore workers. “Today as we mark the 35th anniversary of the Piper Alpha tragedy, RMT again calls for a review of the effectiveness of the safety regime across the entire offshore and maritime sector. "Booming profits and dividends for multinationals, the climate and cost of living crises, energy security, growing demands on a finite workforce, the safety maintenance backlog and the failure to deliver Just Transition policies all demand a robust and active safety representative structure to drive continuous improvement. "Workers’ voices must be heard and the legacy of the 167 Piper Alpha victims must be the safety of all those working across the North Sea today. “We ask that offshore employers allow all workers to take a moment today to remember the 167 offshore workers and the devastating effect that this disaster had on their families and communities, especially in northeast Scotland. The men of Piper are gone but will never be forgotten. “This year, the anniversary of Piper Alpha again takes place during the UK government’s Maritime Safety Week. We once more call on Ministers to respect the memory of Piper Alpha’s victims by delivering the offshore safety culture of continuous improvement recommended in the Cullen Report into the disaster,” he said. VOLUNTARY SEAFARER AGREEMENT NOT GOOD ENOUGH Union calls for mandatory rules between France and UK for seafarer employment and welfare standards RMT MARKS PIPER ALPHA DISASTER REMEMBER: The Hazlehead Park memorial statue for the Piper Alpha victims in Aberdeen