Workers at the Isle of Wight’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Inshore Lifeboat Centre in East Cowes have begun strike action this morning (Tuesday).
Plans of closure first came about in October last year when it was announced that production would be consolidated at the RNLI’s Lifesaving Support Centre in Poole. As first reported by Island Echo, the decision marks the end of lifeboat manufacturing on the Isle of Wight after some 60 years and raised fresh concerns over the loss of skilled jobs and specialist marine industry expertise from the Island.
Today, around 70 skilled workers, many of whom have been employed at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre for over a decade, have set up camp outside the Clarence Road factory where they, along with members from the Unite Union, are striking for a revised redundancy package.
It has been said previously that a dispute over staff redundancy arose when the RNLI said it would not offer any enhancement to redundancy payments due to the ‘generous’ relocation allowance it has offered to staff.
However, for many, including Richard Clark, a store administrator who has been at the centre for 11 years, simply ‘relocating’ to Dorset is not the sort of ‘light and easy’ decision the RNLI make it out to be.
Speaking to Island Echo, Richard said:
“We would like to bring management back to the negotiation table. We would like to save the building and save the jobs, but they (The RNLI) seem to have made it quite clear that that’s not a thing, so now we’re looking for a better redundancy package.
Article continues below this advertisement “If we could save it, that would be great; we think it’s great for the Island that we have this facility. It’s great for the economy of the Island as well.”
Speaking in between the beeping of passing cars, Richard touched on what he wants from the next 3 weeks:
“I think we’ve all been buoyed up by the fact that people are interested, they are supporting us, it has been very nice to hear people walking or driving by, getting involved and showing their support.
If plans to close remain unchanged as a result of the strike, the centre will close by 2028, leaving many like Richard without the stable income they rely on. Richard said:
“It would be nice if there could be some empathy and some compassion from the RNLI board because at the moment we’re not seeing any compassion.
“The guys from Poole keep telling us there’s lots of jobs out there. I’ve been looking, but the Island is mine and my wife’s home; we met here, even though we grew up 2 streets apart in Birmingham. So we will probably stay here.
“Their response is, well, there’s lots of jobs out there, you’ll be fine. But it’s not that easy – I wish it was that easy; it would be great if it was, but it hasn’t been that easy for a very long time.
“It’s a shame, it’s a really big shame… we’ll just have to make it work”
Today marks the beginning of a 3-week strike period, which will see staff from the Inshore Lifeboat Centre protest for greater redundancy packages on 19th and 25th August.
