'Poverty pay’ strike sparks ferry fears for Condor

Tuesday 13 March 2018

Islanders are facing uncertainty over their sailings with Condor this week after a major maritime union threatened strikes over pay for foreign workers, alleged to be as low as £2.46 per hour.

Britain’s largest transport union, RMT, yesterday confirmed it would be holding a protest in Portsmouth on Friday, calling for the end to what they describe as “poverty wages” being paid on Condor ships – a claim strongly refuted by the ferry operator.

The move could be yet another stroke of bad luck for the operator, which has once again been plagued by delays and cancellations in recent months due to industrial action in St. Malo, jet propulsion bucket damage, software issues, and bad weather. 

Condor say that they are not expecting any changes to their schedule related to the strike, with their services operating as planned - they are also reassuring customers that the strike isn't timed to co-incide with their sailing times.

According to RMT, the strike was prompted after they found evidence of Ukrainian seafarers working on a three-month contract with Condor being paid less than £2.50 per hour for a 12-hour working day.

RMT protest in Portsmouth Friday calling for the sacking of Condor and fair employment on ferries to the Channel Islands https://t.co/PofAqQrshM

— RMT (@RMTunion) March 12, 2018

They’re now “calling out” the employer as part of their SOS 2020 campaign, which aims to highlight businesses “profiting from the exploitation of seafarers”, which they say includes Condor Ferries’ owners, the Australian bank Macquarie, who take a management fee under their current service level agreement with the States of Jersey.

The States recently pledged to ensure all of their contractors pay the Living Wage, but a spokesperson confirmed that this only applies to those working on States of Jersey premises, meaning that the wage wouldn't apply to people employed by Condor to work on their ferries.

RMT is now asking politicians and islanders to support their cause by demanding that Condor commits to becoming a Living Wage Employer (£9.75 per hour) on ‘lifeline’ Channel Island ferry services.

They also want the operator to register all of its CI ferries in the ‘Red Ensign Group’, a shipping registry collective aiming to pool resources and maintain safety and quality across the fleet.

Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, said that seafarers “cannot and should not have to compete with pay rates as low as £2.46 per hour.”

“With wages like that it is no wonder that between 1980 and 2016 the number of UK Ratings fell by over 60%. There are 87,000 ratings jobs on ferries and other merchant vessels working from UK ports, with a vast majority paid below the UK National Minimum Wage. RMT is fighting to change this.”

Pictured: RMT is calling on politicians and islanders alike to support their calls for Condor employees to be paid the Living Wage.

National Secretary Steve Todd added that “81% of Channel Islanders in 2016 were dissatisfied with Condor Ferries, the result of rising fares, safety incidents, service cancellations, delayed freight supplies and exploitative employment practices.”

“This is no way to run a lifeline ferry service for the people and businesses of the Channel Islands,” he commented. 

Describing the company as a “proud and reasonable employer”, Condor’s Executive Operations Director Fran Collins refuted the allegations made by the RMT, which she described as “absurd.”

" We fully comply with, and indeed exceed domestic and international employment regulations covering the pay, terms and conditions and protection of all staff which includes full compliance with the MLC 2006.

"Salary is only a part of the overall package provided to these individuals, as this includes free en-suite accommodation, all food, laundry facilities and uniform together with non-contributory life assurance, bonus scheme and medical cover. Condor also meets the travel costs of staff to attend work from their home countries."

Pictured: Condor said that salary was only one part of a whole employment package, which they said many employees were happy with.

Ms Collins added that the crew members referenced by the RMT were fairly represented and appear happy with their working conditions.

"[They] live on board our conventional ferries and many repeatedly return to work for us in preference to taking up other opportunities elsewhere. Their interests are represented by colleagues in the highly active forums we run on our routes and all remain a proud and integral part of the Condor family. They also represent less than 5% of the total workforce of 570 staff. 

"Condor provides training for crew at all levels (from cabin crew to Master and Chief Engineer) along with financial and other support for career development which includes cadetships and ratings’ training. 

"Commercial shipping is a multi-national industry, creating opportunities for citizens of many countries to work internationally. Condor’s recruitment of non-EU staff is therefore not uncommon and in line with other UK ferry firms.”