BRIGGS MARINE UPDATE
NOVEMBER 2024
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR NATIONAL SECRETARY Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to all our members employed by Briggs Marine to provide you with an update on discussions with your employer covering the various ports. In a recent re-organisation by the general secretary I have been allocated overall responsibility for all Briggs Marine sites so I will be taking over organising responsibility in Liverpool and continuing to be lead officer in Sheerness and Dover. We are currently in dispute with Briggs Marine in Sheerness following a unanimous rejection of the recent pay offer, but negotiations are ongoing to find a solution in the form of a negotiated settlement that is acceptable to our members. We had a meeting with company representatives last week and are awaiting a formal offer that addresses our members concerns. If this is not acceptable then we will be looking to ballot our members for industrial action. Additionally, we are seeking recognition for our members in Dover, and whilst the company refused to recognise us voluntarily we had a meeting with
company representatives recently to discuss this matter in greater detail and presented a copy of the recognition agreement similar to those that we currently have in Liverpool and Sheerness in an effort to establish voluntary recognition. If this fails we will have to proceed via the statutory process through the CAC (Central Arbitration Committee). I would like to call upon all members to strengthen our membership in each location so that we are able to protect and progress your workplace conditions and defend any workplace injustice of an individual member. We can only do this by each member taking ownership to ensure that every employee within our bargaining group is a member of RMT. This is not the sole responsibility of your workplace rep, it is the responsibility of us all. I further call upon all members to discuss how we become better organised in your workplace, how we as a union can improve engagement. What you would like to see us improve? Get in contact to discuss this further and become actively involved in ensuring that you have a well organised RMT workplace.
Regards, Darren Procter