Today officers and crew serving in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are holding further strikes. As previously reported, the RFA that provides the Royal Navy’s critical afloat logistic support is in steep decline as it is increasingly unable to find people to crew its ships.
The consequences of failing to pay sailors properly are plain for all to see. Just half of the vessels in the RFA fleet have full crews although even amongst them, some billets have been gapped. This in turn is impacting the RN’s ability to deliver on the frontline.
A spokesman said: “We do not see this as a strike for a pay rise but rather a fight for the very survival of the RFA. Over a decade of cuts have left the service with a critical crewing crisis. Many skilled positions are between 30-50% undermanned. With a voluntary outflow rate exceeding recruitment numbers collapse of the service is now a real risk.
The majority of the fleet is presently unable to proceed to sea due to our crewing crisis. This creates a risk to the United Kingdom’s defence as the RFA are a critical part of Royal Navy operations worldwide. Our terms and conditions of employment are woefully behind the private sector with both officers and crew having suffered a real terms pay cut exceeding 30% since 2015 alone.”
Represented by their respective trade unions, Nautilus and the RMT, Officers and crew will form picket lines at Portland, Birkenhead and Portsmouth or worldwide on vessels that are safely in a port or on a buoy, between 0800-1530 local time.
Coinciding with the strike, Commodore Sam Shattock starts work today as the new head of the RFA (and Deputy Director, Afloat Support). He served for 34 years in the RFA and takes over at a very difficult time. Whether he will be properly empowered and funded to grip the deep-rooted problems, remains to be seen.
Today is also Merchant Navy day, a day set aside annually to commemorate the service and bravery of merchant mariners, who have been crucial in transporting essential goods, food, fuel, and raw materials, across the world’s oceans. Their sacrifices are often rather overlooked of forgotten when compared to that of the uniformed personnel, a theme that continues to impact the treatment of civilian sailors to this day. The RN and the nation as a whole is a reliant as ever on these seafarers.
The logistic support provided by the RFA was once the envy of navies worldwide but for the sake of relatively tiny amounts of funding it now runs the risk of collapse. A new generation of sailors must be recruited and experienced people retained. This will not happen while pay is completely uncompetitive for a job that already involves a measure of personal risk and periods of separation from families.
Compared to the amounts of cash recently handed to junior doctors, this would have minimal impact on public finances. The entire annual wage bill (2022-23) for the RFA, including pensions, was just £92 million.
At least match the pay rise of the armed forces
Bit late for that now after all these years being ignored. Need to make good the last 14 years and have a plan to retain the experienced people so new people can be trained.
Looks like there is no rush by MoD and Treasury to fix the problem. Critical part of defence continues to be ignored and taken for granted and will reach the stage soon where somehow the RN will need to man the ships. Someone needs to get a grip now, the RFA has been drifting for too long without support.
Can see this goverment disbanding RFA as part of there review.
It’s been looking like managed decline for a while now.
When I went to sea in 1960, we had a big merchant fleet of ships, all British built all manned buy British seaman. Today we don’t have a merchant fleet of British built ships, which equals no need for British professional seamen, so no where for the RFA to draw crews from.
I worked on 19 ships 18 of which where British Built, the other ship was Dutch built.
Out of those 19 ships 4 belonged to the RFA all British built, today we cannot even build our RFA ships they are built abroad.
The problem being successive British Governments have allowed everything British to be DESTROYED, because they could get poorer quality stuff from abroad to do the job cheaper.
We the people of the British Isles are paying the price.
BUY BRITISH. BE PROUD TO BE BRITISH.
And yet the RFA refused my application because I didn’t know the Stars interview technique. Stuff the 11 years of RN service.
It is the really odd thing that RN quals don’t equal PQ for RFA intake…
It is not like an RFA would have to operate under fire or anything…?
Crazy
What were you in the RN??
You need to satisfy the MCA. When I left the RN after 14 years of service I had to go to the MCA with all my qualifications to be checked and a discussion with the head examiner. Once this was done I knew what I needed to do at college to get then what was a class 4 and class 3 COC as a deck officer. Remember the RFA comes under MCA rules and ships are certified via class (Lloyds). It doesn’t mean they ignore admirals from the RN. What it it did mean I went from a watch leader in SSNs to being a 3/O(X) over an 18 month period with a significant pay drop. That said I also went from 3/O to 2/O in 2 years and being the Nav/ops very quickly. Just because you have served in the RN doesn’t automatically make you a profession merchant sailor. The RN does not teach cargo work, stability or principles of navigation (to the same level), business law or labour laws for example. Also as a Deck officer you must have an understanding of engineering especially in tankers. As I say to my deck officers “you are Deck Officer not just bridge officer”!!!!!!
What were you in the RN??
Don’t forget to get in the RFA you need to get past the civil service!!!!!!
Oddly, one of the very few strikes I have ever supported.
Seafaring is a market driven sector.
If you don’t pay enough people vote with their feet.
The votes have been overwhelmingly but the solution was to clamp hands over ears and sing la, la, la, la, la louder and louder.
At some point reality has to intrude that if you pay people very little you don’t get many people. And I’m afraid the old adage of – you pay peanuts you get…..does hold true.
This is a scandalous neglect of a vital and strategic asset. We need a high profile campaign to save the RFA, before the Chinese expose this fatal flaw.
Yep I am qualified sqms in the army. Lefted in 2017.
Was told by RFA that does not count and offered me a trainee AB on 18K ayear..lol no thankyou