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02/08/2001
Week of action against pay discrimination on Irish Sea
British and Irish trade unions are targeting Flag of Convenience (FOC) ships in the Irish Sea as part of a week of action against pay discrimination called by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) from July 30 to August 3.
ITF affiliates in Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool and Heysham will investigate vessels paying substandard rates. Ships will be subject to inspections of employment conditions and safety checks by ITF member unions.
Alongside British seafarers, often working at half the wages, are European seafarers from Spain, Portugal and Poland, as well as crew from the Philippines. The UK and Irish maritime unions believe this is unfair and are banding together to ensure uniform rates are paid.
Offshore contracts written in Guernsey and Cyprus that give seafarers no redress to national labour legislation are common.
Co-ordinator, Norrie McVicar, from the RMT union, said: "Wages can go as low as 50 pence an hour, which compares very badly with the UK minimum wage.
"What we are trying to achieve are agreements to implement umbrella conditions across the board, to end discrimination and ensure employment protection.
"This is classic social dumping and in the case of European seafarers, contravenes basic rights written into the Treaty of Rome. It's a practice that has been going on for far too long and we intend to put a stop to it."
(GB)
ITF affiliates in Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool and Heysham will investigate vessels paying substandard rates. Ships will be subject to inspections of employment conditions and safety checks by ITF member unions.
Alongside British seafarers, often working at half the wages, are European seafarers from Spain, Portugal and Poland, as well as crew from the Philippines. The UK and Irish maritime unions believe this is unfair and are banding together to ensure uniform rates are paid.
Offshore contracts written in Guernsey and Cyprus that give seafarers no redress to national labour legislation are common.
Co-ordinator, Norrie McVicar, from the RMT union, said: "Wages can go as low as 50 pence an hour, which compares very badly with the UK minimum wage.
"What we are trying to achieve are agreements to implement umbrella conditions across the board, to end discrimination and ensure employment protection.
"This is classic social dumping and in the case of European seafarers, contravenes basic rights written into the Treaty of Rome. It's a practice that has been going on for far too long and we intend to put a stop to it."
(GB)
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