FOR A SEAFARERS’ CHARTER

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: jan/feb 2026 :: RMTnews 15 R MT national secretary Darren Procter met the Maritime Minister Keir Mather in December (above) to discuss the need for a comprehensive set of conditions in the mandatory Seafarers Charter. This includes issues such as sick pay, holiday pay and pensions based on collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) covering Stena Line and DFDS members who continue to be undercut on short sea international and domestic routes by rogue operators P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries and others. The Minister confirmed in a parliamentary debate that the Seafarers Charter will “include additional powers to regulate safety, including through roster patterns, fatigue management and training, as well as remuneration beyond just pay in UK waters. “That will deliver on our promise to create a mandatory seafarers’ charter. We will be consulting on the use of those powers in 2026,” he said. The union had briefed MPs widely before the debate which included a strong intervention from RMT parliamentary group convenor John McDonnell. This puts the union on course to deliver the changes needed to recover thousands of jobs and apprenticeships in the ferries sector for Ratings covered by RMT agreements. R MT has condemned the decision by Bilfinger to cut over 100 North Sea workers jobs and has criticised Harbour Energy for briefing the media before notifying the union. Harbour which owns offshore platforms, made the proposed redundancies public but RMT was only formally informed days later.  The union warned that these cuts will not only hit those directly affected but will also ripple through the wider North Sea supply chain, with potentially severe consequences for contractors, service providers and local economies. RMT said the move exposes the broken business model underpinning North Sea employment where workers are kept on ad-hoc or “zero-hours by stealth” contracts for years, going platform to platform without knowing if they will have income from one trip to the next. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that Bilfinger and Harbour Energy were hiding behind a business model built on insecurity where skilled offshore workers are treated like disposable labour, kept on zero-hours style contracts only to be thrown on the scrapheap at the employers’ whim. “It is nothing short of contemptuous that the cuts plan was leaked to the media before sitting down with the union, and only then were we offered a token 30-minute consultation. “These workers have kept the platforms running, only to be tossed aside as a cost- saving measure while viable and profitable companies benefit at their expense. “We want urgent government intervention through the North Sea Jobs Service, alongside reform of the North Sea Transition Authority, including public stakes in oil and gas assets, with the goal of ultimately putting an end to this farcical and exploitative employment model,” he said. RMT CONDEMNS BILFINGER FOR ZERO-HOURS EXPLOITATION FOR A SEAFARERS’ CHARTER