Orkney man sets up petition supporting British seafarers
The Orkney man behind a petition started this week, which aims to highlight the plight of British seafarers losing their jobs, says that he hopes to reach 100,000 supporters, which could result in the matter being raised in parliament.
Eric Tait, 45, who lives in Stromness, says that on reaching that number in his parliamentary petition, which he has set up online, there is the possibility that the issue can be debated in the UK Parliament, with his hope that ultimately British jobs can be saved for future generations.
Despite only being set up a matter of days ago, the petition has already reached support from over 1000 people.
Mr Tait worked at sea for 20 years. He recently lost his job and is now retraining and hopes to get a shore based job as a HGV driver.
He claims that in recent years, and especially during the current oil crisis, a large number of British seafarers have been made redundant by British based companies, and in cases replaced with cheaper, foreign crew. He questions how that supports the UK economy.
Mr Tait said that he has started the petition to make the wider public, and indeed those in Parliament, more aware of the situation, and to highlight the effect it is having on British seafarers who have found themselves being made redundant.
Speaking on his hopes to reach 100,000 signatures, he said: “It is a big target, but it is not impossible. The UK Merchant Navy has been in decline for years, it is a way of life, and means a lot to us who worked in the industry for years.
“Seafarers have families to support, and mortgages to pay. If we can get a debate on this in parliament then it could make a difference. We want to get the government to save the future of the industry for British seafarers, and that parliamentary debate could make the difference.”
The petition runs for six months, ending on September 9, and can be found online at
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/123806
• Recently, maritime union Nautilus International has reacted with “shock and anger” to a decision by one North Sea shipping company to sack 45 UK officers and ratings and replace them with cheap workers from Asia.
The North Sea sector has suffered around 65,000 jobs losses since the oil price crashed last year, and the announcement that these British seafarers jobs are being moved to Asian workers is a further blow to the sector.
In emails seen by the union, Farstad Shipping admits that it is making the crew — who all work on ships operating in British waters — redundant and intends to replace them with Asian seafarers in an attempt to ‘lower costs’ and avoid having to put any vessels into lay-up. The email added that the company was ‘sorry about the situation but we are trying to keep most of the vessels active’.
Nautilus senior national secretary Garry Elliott said that the decision by the company, where the union has a trade union recognition agreement, was a shock to members who had been trying to work with the company in recent months and find ways to cut costs without losing jobs.