The islands’ MP and MSP must intervene in the dispute over a planned massive cut in earnings to CalMac shore staff. That is the view of the isles’ Labour party which today said it deplored the threatened pay cuts.
In its statement, Western Isles Constituency Labour Party said that, if implemented, it would mean both longer working hours and pay-cuts in the region of 25% to the CalMac staff who are often employed in peripheral and economically disadvantaged areas throughout the west coast of Scotland.
“The vast majority of these are women; a number of which are the sole providers for families. This will clearly have a devastating effect on their household income.”
Labour said that as the ferry firm’s annual accounts showed a £4.5 million profit, with another £5.8 million being returned to the Scottish Government, the Western Isles branch saw no need for these “draconian” measures.
The Labour statement also said: “The Western Isles Constituency Labour Party calls on the Western Isles MP, Angus B MacNeil and his Holyrood counterpart, Dr Alasdair Allan, to perform their primary role as representatives of the people of this constituency, intervening in this dispute and urging the company to withdraw proposals that will affect people throughout the islands. Those employed in our ferry service deserve no less.”
Dr Allan has said he was in touch with CalMac to get clarification of their intentions and he expressed the hope that a solution can be found that respects the situation of staff.
He said: “It would not be helpful for me to speculate about this while talks are ongoing.”
Meanwhile, the first round of talks over the controversial pay cut plan between the main union, the Transport and Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), and CalMac are due to kick off on Tuesday.
Legally binding employment contracts cannot be drastically changed as is being proposed, willy-nilly, with up to 25% reduction in incomes. Existing staff should remain on protected salaries/contracts, any new staff recruited can sign up to these changes, altho CalMac may find difficulty recruiting suitable employees on inferior conditions. This will open up the market for cheap immigrant labour, which is just as offensive. We need a more precise explanation as to why efficiency savings are necessary, given the track record of sailings, and profit margins already published. This reported targetting of a vulnerable group of employees is to be deplored – if CalMac wish to “soften the blow” then management can start by looking at their own salaries and share the burden proportionately, and then look across all staff grades. This has the makings of a nasty, protracted, dispute.
So the local Labour Party have found their voice at last, now they need to find a candidate- step forward Andrew Walker!
Better to have any voice at all than the silence of AB or the muffled squeak Dr Allan adds to the proceedings.
Will these two ever stand up for the islands they represent?
at least Andrew has the balls to say how it is….
cant say the same about the SNP MP and MSP…..
Well, well … my wife Katie finds these personal comments amusing … at least I’m free of any party affiliation to express my views on an issue-by-issue basis, as I truly and honestly believe. Free of all the ghastly SNP shackles and hierarchical instructions: basically “don’t rock the boat before Sept 2014″. Well, I’m seriously rocking the CalMac boat(s) and their managers, presently discussing exorbitant cuts to salaries of certain shore-based staff. I applaud the stance taken by Labour, and their motion passed at Conference last week-end. Also, letter from Rhoda Grant. I’m awaiting outcomes from today’s meeting with interest. Iain will keep us all well briefed.
I think Andrew Walker’s contributions are very valuable on this website. They are clear, thorough, thoughtful and written in good and fluent English. For all these reasons, you can see why he didn’t belong in the Western Isles branch of the SNP.
‘I can’t believe AB is not fighting hard for all the shoreline jobs at Cal Mac. After all, when he was involved with the Range, he said that he thought women’s jobs were more important than men’s in small community. Now here’s his big chance to prove it. They are mostly women’s jobs, AB. Don’t let the sisterhood down!’
Sorry to hear talks to resolve this dispute have now broken down, and I’m not surprised to hear of talk now of industrial action in the air. I don’t know of any individual employee or family willing to contemplate a 25% reduction in salary: the consequences are mind-blowing!
What’s going wrong between the SNP Govt at Holyrood and our SNP MSP/MP?? – we have calamity after calamity: (i) RET debacle, still on-going, and Consultants’ report not being released despite FOI request; (ii) Inter-island flights fiasco with severe implications for everyone; (iii) Lochboisdale/Mallaig ferry now a no-no, yet new sailing to Campbeltown just agreed; (iv) protracted and expensive litigation in High Court re school closures, SNP Govt vs the Comhairle. Now, CalMac (Transport Scotland) deplorable action directed at key shore-based employees. The two responsible Cabinet Secretaries are Keith Brown and Mike Russell. Is there something more sinister going on between these two individuals and our MSP/MP? This punitive attitude towards our islands must not be allowed to continue. Last Sunday I watched a pre-view of BBC TV documentary “Hebrides: Islands on the Edge” – I’m getting a distinct impression that the SNP Govt and their local elected representatives are now doing their level best to tip us over the edge. Time has long since passed for some straight talking and explanations please, before it’s too late.