Seafarers working for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are set to protest outside the Labour Party conference this Sunday, September 22, as part of their ongoing campaign against low pay.
The protest will take place at ACC Liverpool from 3:00 PM, ahead of a planned three-day strike starting at midnight on Monday.
This action follows five previous stoppages in a long-running pay dispute involving both RMT union members and the RFA officers’ union, Nautilus.
Despite meetings with the Ministry of Defence, no improved offer has been made to the workers, the union say.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch mentioned the fairness of the seafarers’ demands, stating, “It is clear that these workers need to be given a pay rise that recognises the important and often hazardous work they do all over the world. We will continue to campaign for a decent pay rise so we can bring this dispute to a conclusion.”
While all RFA personnel have been directed to refrain from duties during strike days, essential safety protocols, such as maintaining moorings and gangways, will be strictly observed.
One of the few strikes that I believe is justified.
Left any longer RFA will be beyond no return with key trades at zero [of the types you need to mentor others] and no institutional experience.
“One of the few strikes that I believe is justified….”
This ☝🏻
👆 seconded…..
I find it really bloody odd?
Why won’t Labour sort this easily corrected situation, why??
They imminently dished out 11 billon on their TUC paymasters, dues / protection racket!!!
What’s the plan here, absorb it into the RN, privatise?
For the life of me, I can’t see the reasoning for allowing the RFA, a absolutely critical RN enabler to literally implode before our very eyes.
Welcome to Government – Now you’ve paid off the Train Drivers & The Doctors lets see how you fare dealing with this.
Yes, I agree with most posters, this needs to be settled. They deserve comparative wages to RN colleges
The reason Labour are not progressing with an offer is simple. Firstly they don’t care and secondly they know if they offer more than the 5% the rest of the civil service will be arguing for more and there will have another strike on their hands. This is of various Governments own making. The RFA used to be aligned with BP however, in the early 2000’s this was put aside and the lower offer between the industry standard or the civil service was taken. This is why the RFA officers are now over 30% out of pocket. The junior sailors… Read more »
The entire UK armed forces, including the RFA, are facing serious manpower shortages. That problem should be addressed holistically. One has to look, for example, at what they are doing right in France, which does not have personnel problems, vs. what the practices are in the UK. Some of the problem is undoubtedly linked to poor pay, and that should be corrected. But the larger problem is the collapse of the notion of “service” and the very idea that the country is worth defending. All of that needs to be tackled if these manpower issues can be definitively resolved.
Meanwhile MoD happy to sign a 2 year, £400m contract with a “consultancy firm”
This hopefully should start to get the attention of the media and for the government to beheld account ,soon found the money for the train drivers and the young want to be Doctors .Men and women of the RFA are asked to be put is harm’s way and yet no extra money ? It’s Shameful .I wonder how many of our government know what the RFA is ?