Motion 65
Seafarer Employment & Training
“That this Congress welcomes the Employment Rights Bill’s provisions to create a mandatory Seafarers Charter, addressing one of the RMT and wider trade union movements’ key demands following the P&O Ferries scandal in March 2022.
“The Charter has the potential to be groundbreaking legislation in that it will introduce mandatory employment protections specifically for seafarers working on domestic and international short sea ferry routes, such as in the Irish Sea.
“The detailed content of the Charter however will be developed through Government regulations following consultation with stakeholders and Congress supports the maritime trade unions, including RMT, in using this process to develop the highest possible employment protection and training standards for all seafarers.
“As well as the development of the Charter to achieve these goals, the STUC agrees to work with affiliates on other measures to develop and increase decent, secure well paid seafarer jobs in the Scottish Maritime sector. These include:
- the restoration and expansion of roll-on roll-off passenger and freight services between Scotland and northern Europe.
- all seafarer Ratings jobs on any new ferry services in Scotland to be covered by sectoral collective bargaining agreements with the maritime unions and for this to be a specific Fair Work objective.
- to work with trade unions including RMT to audit Scotland’s seafarer workforce and maritime apprentices to tackle skills gaps and recover decent seafarer jobs in Scotland, primarily in the ferry sector and in the offshore energy supply chain.
- noting publicly owned CalMac Ferries have trained over 130 maritime apprentices since 2016, continued support of permanent public ownership of CalMac and all Scottish Ferry services, including NorthLink, as the best basis for providing secure maritime employment and decent training and apprenticeships.”
Mover: National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers
RSS