The GMB Union has warned that plans to strip coastguards of their hourly pay and reclassify them as volunteers could force more than half of the officers in Yorkshire and Humberside to reduce their hours or quit.
Coastguards in Yorkshire and the Humber would be seriously affected if ‘cruel’ pay cuts go ahead, according to a trade union.
More than half of the coastguards in Yorkshire and Humberside would be forced to reduce their hours or stop volunteering altogether over plans to strip coastguard officers of their hourly pay, the GMB Union has said.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) plans to make coastguards volunteers rather than paid workers from later in the year.
The GMB Union, citing the MCA’s “own survey data”, said more than half of coastguards in the region would be forced to reduce their hours or stop volunteering altogether if the “cruel pay cuts are carried out”.
Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, is “pressing for a ‘stop’ and proper consultation” before the changes are implemented.
Speaking last month, she said:
“All of the coastguard rescue officers (CRO) I spoke to are dedicated and selfless individuals. The role they perform is so much more complex than many people realise.
“Highly trained, it was harrowing to hear them recount some of the rescue missions they have been on, including attending the scenes of suicides and attempted suicides, and how it has affected them.
“I simply don’t think it’s right that they are switched to volunteer status, and I’ll be speaking up for them.”
Ms Hume added that she would be speaking to Selby MP Keir Mather, the Minister for Maritime, Aviation and Decarbonisation, to voice concerns.
The scheme to change the status of coastguards follows a court of appeal ruling, which confirmed that people who had been serving as coastguard rescue officers (CROs) have been doing so as workers, rather than volunteers.
Subsequently, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) decided to stop the payments from September, in order to start legally classing CROs as volunteers.
Almost 100 coastguards from Yorkshire and Humberside responded to a survey carried out by the MCA, the results of which have been leaked to GMB, the union said.
It said the survey demonstrated that 52 per cent would be forced to reduce their hours or be unable to continue if the cuts went ahead.
Nicola Savage, GMB National Officer, said:
“These cruel cuts are going to rip the heart out of a life-saving emergency service millions of people rely on.
“Coastguards across the UK risk their own lives to keep us safe – the very least they should expect is to be paid for their time and expenses.
“If the MCA pushes ahead with these unprecedented cuts, the Coastguard that has protected us for more than 200 years could cease to exist as we know it.”
The MCA has been contacted for a comment.
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