Officers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are set to strike for the first time in the history of the service.
The strike action, scheduled for August 15, comes after a prolonged pay dispute, according to a press release from Nautilus International, the union representing RFA officers.
The strike will commence at 00:01 BST and last until 23:59 BST on August 15. This follows a period of continuous action short of a strike since June 1. The union states that RFA officers have faced a real-term pay cut of over 30% since 2010, with a below-inflation pay rise of 4.5% imposed in November 2023.
Nautilus International reported overwhelming support for the industrial action, with 85% of members voting for action short of a strike and 79% voting for strike action.
“Strike action is always a last resort for us, but there is a palpable strength of feeling among our members at the RFA,” said Martyn Gray, Nautilus International’s Director of Organising.
“Over 14 years of cuts and pay restraint, despite the RFA undertaking increasingly complex operations, have taken their toll. Our members are overworked, underpaid and undervalued.”
Gray noted that this unprecedented strike action highlights the severe issues within the RFA, which is grappling with a recruitment and retention crisis and low morale across the workforce.
“The fact this is the first time RFA officers will take strike action in history is a scathing indictment on the state of the service,” he added.
Despite early discussions with the Ministry of Defence following the recent general election, Nautilus International reports that they have yet to receive a new and improved pay offer for their members. “This is unacceptable and leaves us no option but to escalate from action short of strike to full strike action,” Gray stated.
“Our message is simple: to avoid disruption at the RFA, who are vital to the UK’s naval capabilities, we need a pay offer that reflects the high rate of inflation and a pathway to pay restoration. We remain committed to working with government to achieve that.”
This historic strike underscores the broader challenges faced by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in maintaining its operational effectiveness and supporting its personnel.
Did our new Chancellor forget about the RFA ?
She’s probably never heard of it 🤔
Civil Servants so get 5%.
Merely the tip of the iceberg. The Chancellor has opened a can of worms that is going to cause her no end of problems. Would have been far better to re-evaluate people’s pay and then index link it indefinately.
That’s pretty much what she is doing
Jim, that is so far from the truth it’s in the stratosphere 🚀. She’s just handing out pay rises with no thought behind them at all, otherwise she would have had the brain power to add the RFA into the services pay award. Mind you, nobody put much thought into that either.
Well if she is doing that she needs to make it crystal clear plus set out primary legislation to set in place a mechanism for all UK workers in critical roles to receive pay increases so there are never any strikes ever again and we can get on with rebuilding the country.
Simple really and would take the wind out of the Tories sails.
Just pay them the increase they are after . There are not that many of them and Its not like they are Jr doctors who have hoodwinked the country on how poor they are (They ain’t once they get past year one and start adding in allowances) I know a fair few senior RFA Officers from their time in this part of the world. All are utterly hacked off but at the same time very conflicted that they are forced to take this route. The big issue is that the Armed forces get a pay rise but the RFA gets… Read more »
It will be interesting to see what Wes Streeting does with the NHS in general. His plan to increase use of the private sector is a good one. The problem with the NHS unions is they are very good at pushing the publics buttons, giving disingenuous info, mentioning new nurses poor pay, without mentioning how fast it actually rises within a few years. Use of the private sector is currently regarded as a temporary measure, I suspect it will become the norm, as part of a long term private/ public partnership. What does it matter to the public, if its… Read more »
John a couple of things there I would like to discuss. first on medication waste…it’s around £300million a year….we get £600 million in revenue from prescription charges per year…60% of the items have a charge…but the total cost of all community prescribing was 9.5 billion pounds…so essentially 95% of the cost of medication comes from NHS budgets…so it’s always been free..the charge for under 60s is tokenism….the reason is that if your on complex long term medication your not going to be able to afford it ( a diabetic would need for fork out around £5000 per year and that’s… Read more »
“law prevents them from having shared IT and information systems”
What is the logic behind this?
Well it’s complex as hell but the primary legislation includes: 1) data protection act. 2) human rights act. 3) health and social care act 2012 4) NHS act 2006. guidance can be found from the: 1)information commissioners office, guidance ( these are the people who fine the different NHS organisations when they get it wrong…17.5million pounds or 4% of an NHS organisations operating budget…one trust I used to have to keep an eye on got on the wrong end of a data sharing issue and ended up fined 4 million pounds…) 2) Caldicott 1 3) Caldicott 2 If you sum… Read more »
I was recently sat in a pharmacy trying to get my fathers medication corrected after multiple mistakes from GP, carers and the pharmacy itself, long story wont go into it. Had to make 3 visits over 3 days sitting waiting for medication to be amended and re-packaged. 2 of those visits people came in asking for medication to be handed over packages and informed what it is, immediate reply from the people collecting this is the wrong one again. Pharmacy blames the GP prescription and the roundabout begins again. However in both instances the packages with the incorrect medication walked… Read more »
It may take some time for the real world to knock pragmatism into the Chancellor. RFA, civilian medics and other civil servants working intimately with the military on operations need a pay mechanism that recognises their form of service.
Their pay is pretty awful. It’s contributing to recruiting and retention problems. It’s now also leading to poor industrial relations at the time when we need to rebuild our hollowed out defence capabilities to meet increased external threat. I suggest the Treasury just shuts up and writes the cheque. They can take the money out of all “the nice to haves” nonsense the government currently splashes out on.
Good for them.
Military pay is a joke as well. They say the Army can’t strike, but what are they going to do if SNCO’s just don’t turn up one day? Use up what little prison cells the country has left?
Considering the tiny size of the RFA, just get them good pay rises and start bringing them back up to strength….
Can’t do that they haven’t got a union the Labour Party relies on for support/donations. They are well down the pecking order.
O/T there is even talk of the BMA having anther go next year🙄
That is a problem with any Labour govenment. They are chained to the Unions, this effects policy and spending choices.
Yes, heard that one too!
The BMA and Royal colleges are in no way and never have been affiliated with the Labour Party…these are middle class institutions dedicated to the protection of middle class power…they pretty much are the antithesis of a workers Union.
If you say so but the little nob popping up from them in interviews is a bloody communist! He couldn’t wait to say strike action works and stand by for more,he even boasted he told Streeting as much.
Isn’t his father an investment banker and a millionaire if is the one I am thinking off ?
The prat with glasses who buggered off on holiday during one strike😡
Don’t get me wrong..they are there to defend drs to the hilt….they are a nightmare to deal with..pay is the least problem…but these guys are middle class professionals protectionists…not communists..infact the first thing the communists did in Russia was shoot these guys…. The big problem with the BMA is that they strictly control what can be done around healthcare…and they have massive political power…the conservative government played all big with the strikes…but one of the big reasons the NHS is in the mess it is, is that the conservative administration in 2010 were in the pockets of the medical profession… Read more »
As others have said, they are such a small cohort, and considering time spent at sea and in areas of potential conflict they definitely deserve a decent pay rise. My brother was ex Merchant and told me that the “Red Duster” crews received “add pay” for sailing to certain parts of the world.
Pay the RFA a decent wage for a job VERY, VERY well done.
RFA a key enabler for the RN World Wide often taking the place of a Warship. They should be paid their worth which should be above the Merchant Fleet with the perks they once had and deserve. Small they may be in number but deliver way more and so professional compared to others that undertake similar roles around the World. UK Gov and MOD pay these key people what they deserve as they as much as those in the other Services defend the freedoms we all enjoy. They cannot be compared to others in Gov service as they are at… Read more »
I honestly don’t understand why there would be different pay rates for RN officers and RFA officers….after all where the RN are so are the RFA.
My understanding is that is a far different role and much more aligned to being a merchant mariner than an RN officer. The levels of training in particular are vastly different. To be a Captain of an RFA vessel you need to hold a Master Mariner’s Ticket; by no means a small feat. Its complex but they have different tonnage limits and experience/qualification requirements. It’s kind of like the different kinds of driving licenses you get. To be CO of an RN warship you do not need this, rather (and quite famously in the Service) you get no civvy qualifications… Read more »
Nice summary and your analogy of driving an HGV and a MBT is good. Seeing them as Civil Servants is one thing but treating them a Civil Servants (pay and conditions of service) is off course. How can they say to the boss, “it’s my kids school leaving event next Wednesday can I have a days leave?” or go to an after work leaving do in the pub — things we nine-to-fivers took for granted. Being at sea is a 7 x 24 task and being in a Grey-hulled RFA vessel is different — they are a public face of… Read more »
A couple of points. First is training, unless you’re already qualified in the role you’re going into, you’ll do the 11 weeks of uselessness at BRNC then go on further train 3-5 years as a cadet depending on how much sea-time they can get you in your sea phases. Compare that to the RN where I could have an HNC in computing and IT with a waiver then do 30 weeks at BRNC and be a sub-lieutenant warfare officer. Second is on tax, a merchant seafarer needs to be outside British waters for over 6 months to benefit from the… Read more »
G, thanks for the reply. Really interesting. Yes I am RN, I went from 210 people on a frigate to 12 on a Swire tender that we used as a patrol boat in the Indian Ocean. Very much the same experience. Oh you have 2 engineers that do everything… A few RFA mates often complain about the SED complexity and how HR regularly let them down by over promising deployed time or ships programmes changing that see them in UK waters. I think it is sold to the crew as a huge benefit of being RFA compared to RN that… Read more »
No problems, sounds like the tender/patrol boat would have been an “interesting” trip.
This needs to be sorted by CSG 2025… doesn’t it?! Otherwise they mayn’t get past the Suez! Seriously, why can’t both sides come to some middle ground and some pragmatism and get on?
Quentin, mate, pragmatism? When politicians are involved..?
Oh, if only..!
Cheers CR
Quentin, mate, pragmatism with politicians involved?
Oh if only..!
Cheers CR
Evening CR, if they can’t see that the RFA are the life blood of navy and its ops they should be doing a different job! Fair pay and stop the faffing about. The RN is more than a fishing fleet and needs the RFA!
Curious if the RFA rates of pay would be same, or less or more, than those in the maritime industry?Anyone here know?