Alex Moore, Plymouth Socialist Party
RMT union members at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary took their third day of strike action on 1 August in the UK and overseas. RMT union members at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary took their third day of strike action on 1 August in the UK and overseas. In a warm show of solidarity, the RMT picket in Darwin, Australia, was supported by the Mariners Union of Australia.
Plymouth Socialist Party members attended the picket at the Albert Dock entrance to Devonport Naval dockyard, and brought with us the GMB picket captain from the G4S strike at the Department for Work and Pensions to address the seafarers.
The mood on the picket line was determined and confident. It was reported that talks with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) had ended with nothing put on the table by the employer to help resolve the dispute. All the talk on the picket line was of the need to escalate to all-out indefinite action.
The next strike is set to take place on 16 August, following a one-day strike on 15 August by the officers’ union Nautilus, who are also in dispute over pay.
Socialist Party members in RMT are supporting NEC member and Plymouth RMT Number 1 secretary Dave Goard, standing for election for the relief regional organiser (Southern Region)
