Lives must not be put at risk by coastguard cuts
Cuts to UK coastguard stations must not put lives at risk and staff
must not be forced out of the service, the Public and Commercial
Services union warns.
The union, which represents 750 members in the Maritime and Coastguard
Agency, also said any changes would have to address years of low pay
which has left coastguards as the poor relation of the emergency
services.
Following today’s (16 December) announcement that 10 of the UK’s 19
coastguard stations would close, and centres in Solent and Aberdeen
expanded, the union said ensuring proper emergency cover for our
coastlines was vital, and called on the MCA to give a commitment that
there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Coastguard staff receive as little as £13,500 a year, making them the
lowest paid in the emergency services. PCS members have been in dispute
over pay for four years and continue to take industrial action short of
a strike.
Jeremy Gautrey, PCS negotiations officer for MCA, said: “We will be
studying the detail of these proposals very carefully to ensure that
lives would not be put at risk and that the ability of our members to
provide an emergency service is not compromised.”
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka added: “Coastguards are a highly
respected and valued part of our coastal communities and they must not
be forced out of their jobs.”
ENDS
Notes
– For information and interview requests contact PCS national press
officer Richard Simcox on 020 7801 2747 or 07833 978216
– The Public and Commercial Services union represents civil and public
servants in central government. It has more than 300,000 members in over
200 departments and agencies, as well as staff in parts of government
transferred to the private sector. PCS is the UK’s sixth largest union
and is affiliated to the TUC. The general secretary is Mark Serwotka and
the president is Janice Godrich
– Follow PCS on Twitter
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