LETTERS / CROSSWORD

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september/october 2024 :: RMTnews 30 Send entries to Prize Crossword, RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NWI IJD by October 17, 2024. with your name and address. Last month’s winner is Winner J Thomson, Weston Super- Mare. Please supply bank account details and sort code to receive your prize quickly. Last month’s solution... ACROSS 1 Mindset (10) 8 Oozing (7) 9 Wide open (5) 10 Shelter (5) 11 Leave behind (7) 12 Fashionable (3,3) 14 Fanatic (6) 16 Ornamental plant (7) 17 Annoyance (5) 19 Cassia tree (5) 20 Tiresomely long (7) 21 Showing kindness (10) DOWN 1 Predominance (13) 2 Leavening agent (5) 3 Braying sound (3,3) 4 Oozing (7) 5 Lofty in style (13) 6 Emperor (4) 7 Female donkey (6) 12 Enrapture (6) 13 Daunt (7) 15 Improvise (4,2) 17 Military chaplain (5) 18 A previous time (4) £50 PRIZE CROSSWORD Dear editor, I am a ‘Camp boss/ Chef manager’ working offshore in the UK energy sector. I place my job title in inverted commas and italics as it is a catch-all term. Over the years, offshore catering companies have become Olympians in the race to the bottom, cutting catering numbers and removing supervisory positions. The myriad of tasks and responsibilities that these now ‘redundant’ roles comprised of have been shifted onto the catch all position that is the ‘camp boss’ circa 2024. So, what I am in my world of work is an administrator, accountant, store man, stock controller, food safety specialist, food intolerance /food allergy gatekeeper, nutritionist, educator, dietitian, wellness and mental health support, craftsman, instructor, mentor, trainer, competency verifier, health and safety professional, accommodation lead, waste control and recycling, shop keeper and mediator. These are some of many and varied hats that make up the basket that is a Chef manager offshore in 2024. The COTA companies driven by the ever present need to do it cheaper have streamlined the personnel, promised to do more with less for less but still somehow better. Ultimately these promises have translated into the ever- mushrooming remit of Chef managers. The much-heralded COTA agreement does not cover the no-mans land that is the Camp boss role. In an ironic twist its far easier to add additional duties to the Chef manager than it is to add them to the various grades, as over the years, the grades remit has to be honed and pruned to reflect the core tasks and these are clearly noted in the COTA job descriptions for these roles. Few grade D chefs aspire to the chef manager role because they see the unpaid additional hours, the constant and unremitting pressure that has been heaped upon the chef manager role. The indignity of ‘customer comment cards’, the need to make budgets, keep the customers happy, no waste and no accidents, my fellow Chef managers will understand these things. In a multi-billion pound industry, the Daily budget per person to provide sustenance is farcical. I would like to encourage all the chef managers who do read this to consider the question of worth. Do you feel that your role as a head of a key department is respected, do you feel that you are given the resources and support to fulfill such a pivotal role in the life and well-being of a remote workplace? Do you feel that your salary reflects the job you do? For myself, the answer is NO. If I am doing the job of a head of a department I want to be paid as such. Please take the time to contact our union and say enough is enough. Chef managers KNOW YOUR WORTH. Name supplied AN OFFSHORE CHEF’S MESSAGE LETTERS