seafaring - scots fight privatisation
WORKERS, APR 2005 ISSUE
Scottish seafarers providing a lifeline to the far-flung populations on the many islands to the west of Scotland have voted to strike against an EU-inspired move to privatise the company they work for. The strong feelings of the RMT members involved were reflected in a ballot for strike action announced on 14 March — 66% in favour in a turnout of over 59%.
The ferry company they work for — Caledonian MacBrayne — is publicly owned, but the EU has directed that it and services like it must be privatised. Now the seafarers working on the ships find their hard-fought wages, jobs, conditions and pensions under threat as the Scottish Executive has thrown the employer into an open tendering process — despite a vote against tendering in the Scottish Parliament last December. The seafarers are receiving strong support from the various island communities, and the campaign brings together workers from NUMAST, TGWU, TSSA as well as the RMT.