Fair Pay for RFA Seafarers Industrial Action
19 May 2024
Who are the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)?
The RFA, formed in 1905, employs 1,750 civilian seafarers to operate a fleet of thirteen ships responsible for keeping the Royal Navy (RN) fleet supplied with fuel, food, water, ammunition, medical aid, mail and supplies wherever the RN fleet is deployed around the world, including almost every military conflict involving the UK in the last 119 years.
Why RMT members are taking industrial action
RMT organise RFA Ratings who work across the deck, engine, communications and catering departments of the RFA fleet. They work four month tours at sea and are integral to the safe operation of the ship, delivery of RN objectives and to our national security.
RFA crew are classed as civil servants and their merchant seafarer skills and operational flexibility are highly prized by the MoD and the RN. But years of pay cuts and escalating workloads have taken their toll on morale and on the well-being of RFA seafarers:
The pay of RFA crew has lost value by over 36%, due to fourteen years of pay freezes and below inflation settlements.
RFA crew numbers fell 28% but the workload has increased dramatically since 2015. The 2023-24 pay settlement imposed on RFA was lower than the RN’s 5% award.
RFA’s current offer to crew is lower than the market average in the shipping industry.
RFA pensions, redundancy rights and pay have been systematically undermined since 2010, making an RFA career less well paid and less attractive.
Our RFA members voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action to resolve this pay issue. We are taking strike action on Sunday 19th May on all RFA ships in port, including in Birkenhead, Portland, Plymouth and Falmouth.
We demand a fair pay settlement, through a consolidated increase to RFA seafarers’ pay. u v w x y