Examination of Witnesses (Questions 95-99)
23 JUNE 2004
MR BRIAN
ORRELL, MR
MARK DICKINSON,
MR ANDREW
LININGTON, MR
BOB CROW
AND MR
STEVE TODD
Q95 Chairman: Good afternoon, gentlemen.
It is always nice to have people from the shipping industry. It
proves to me conclusively what an equal opportunities group you
are. Would you like to identify yourselves for the record, please,
starting with my left.
Mr Todd: Steve Todd, RMT National
Secretary.
Mr Crow: Bob Crow, General Secretary,
RMT.
Mr Orrell: Brian Orrell, General
Secretary, NUMAST.
Mr Dickinson: Mark Dickinson,
Assistant General Secretary, NUMAST.
Mr Linington: Andrew Linington,
Head of Communications, NUMAST.
Q96 Chairman: Thank you very much. Did
either of you gentlemen want to say something before you begin?
Mr Orrell: Yes, I would, if I
may. We first of all would like to thank the Committee for holding
the inquiry. It is much needed. NUMAST values the work of the
Committee, and indeed we believe that its report in 1999 was a
very significant contribution to the introduction of the Government's
shipping policy. Indeed, this Government has, more than many others,
introduced a shipping policy of some coherence for the industry.
The tonnage tax actually was described as a jewel in the crown
at the time and with the other aspects of the Government's policy
it was intended to reverse the decline of our fleet and regenerate
training and employment of seafarers. NUMAST is more than worried
that the objectives have not been achieved as we had hoped. Whilst
ships have increased in number, increases in cadet training have
been more than disappointing. UK officer employment has declined
by 14% and that is just not from retirement, from an ageing population,
it is through job losses and redundancies. There has been a steady
increase of foreign officers used and we believe that the Government
through the MCA has assisted this by issuing certificates of equivalent
competency like confetti over the period. NUMAST believes that
the Government must follow through its initiatives and objectives
and actually provide what we would regard as a modest and pragmatic
officer employment linked to the tonnage tax. We believe that
this should be obligatory through regulations or through collective
bargaining agreements and we have submitted a proposal on this
to the Secretary of State for Transport. We believe the Government
should also accept and discharge a responsibility for the social
conditions on board, and by that I mean the terms and conditions
of employment and the conditions of work. NUMAST is quite tired
of receiving the comment from Government ministers that the Government
does not involve itself in the decisions on who crews its ships
and we believe that is a green light for the foreign officers
that are increasing on our ships.
Q97 Chairman: That is quite helpful.
Do you have any idea of the number of UK officers and ratings
that would be required for ship and shore work?
Mr Orrell: Well, we know what
the bank of officers is now and we know what we will need to replace
that bank. We do not know how many ships you will need and how
many officers you will need.
Q98 Chairman: No, I am thinking particularly
of the officers and the ratings.
Mr Orrell: With the officers,
when we started off this exercise we worked on the basis that
to replace the officer bank that we had back in 1998 we would
need 1,250 cadets per year. That would be the number of cadets
that would flow through into officers and then flow ashore into
the maritime skills where currently there is a demand for 132,000
such people, 12% of which are preferred officers and 6.5% ashore
are essential for the officers. That has changed through the years
since. Because of the reducing officer population obviously the
number of people needed to replace them goes down. It currently
stands, I think, from the latest report of London Metropolitan
University at 1,000 cadets that we need per year to replace that
bank of officers.
Q99 Chairman: Are there differences in
the needs for officers and ratings?
Mr Orrell: I think Mr Crow can
probably speak on the ratings.
Mr Crow: Yes, there is, Chairman.
In 1980 there were 30,000 ratings and according to a report by
the Cardiff University the UK's economy requirements for people
with experience of working at sea in 2003 estimated there was
a total of 15,700 jobs ashore, which employs a third of ex-seafarers
and the reason they have commented, Chairman, is that in our report
we have no doubt whatsoever that the tonnage tax has been beneficial
to the shipowners and there is no argument at all that there are
more ships using British ports now in the last 20 years than ever
before. The fact is that it has not produced any ratings jobs
whatsoever.
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