Over 400 workers at Wightlink are being balloted as to whether or not to carry out strike action as a result of the company proposing to slash workers’ pension rights and change their working conditions.
Negotiations have failed to produce an offer on pensions and terms and conditions that meet ‘the very reasonable demands of the workforce’, according to the RMT.
The ballot of all grades – from seafarers to ticket office staff at Wightlink (Guernsey) and Wightlink Ltd – is over the company’s refusal to withdraw their proposal to close the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme to existing members and refusal to withdraw their proposal to reintroduce the flexible working practices which all employees were subject to in the first 6 months of the pandemic.
According to the union, Wightlink’s action had been ‘particularly disgraceful’ due to the fact that at the height of the pandemic (April to September) employees loaned 20% of their salary and gave up terms and conditions for 6 months to allow the company to keep trading. The company have chosen to repay the generosity of their employees by slashing their pension rights and changing their working conditions.
Meanwhile, Wightlink continues to pay out millions of pounds in dividends to its various private equity owners, extracting funds from the company that should be used to support a workforce that has shown loyalty to the firm in these unprecedented times.
The ballot opened on 14th December and the campaign for a massive ‘yes’ vote is well underway.
Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, has said:
“Our members at Wightlink are angry and frustrated that the company are slashing their pensions and terms and conditions on this lifeline service in what is real kick in the teeth for loyal and hard-working staff.
“It is a particularly bitter blow in light of the fact Wightlink that employees loaned 20% of their salary and gave up terms and conditions for 6 months to allow the company to keep trading at the height of the pandemic.
“Disgracefully, Wightlink has managed to find the funds to pay huge dividends to the various private equity owners that have been feeding off our members’ work for the last five years.
“The ballot has opened and we are campaigning hard for a massive YES vote.
“RMT is looking for the company to the decent thing in the season of goodwill and make a responsible offer to settle this dispute. The union remains available for talks.”
According to accounts from Companies House, the highest paid director at Wightlink earned £348,000 in 2018-19 which is over 15x what a Sales and Reservations Officers at Wightlink earns today (£22,808 per annum).
UPDATE @ 10:38 – Wightlink says it is disappointed that the RMT has decided to ballot its members on strike action while consultations are still underway.
Chief Executive Keith Greenfield says:
“It is my duty to ensure that Wightlink survives this crisis, however long it lasts. The company must manage our current costs and future financial risks to become a sustainable business and protect services and jobs. We are currently talking to union representatives to seek their views and hear their alternative proposals.
“This ballot for industrial action will damage the company and jeopardise our proposal to increase pension contributions for more than half of our colleagues.
“Our proposal to colleagues includes changes to our pension system, flexibility in working patterns and changes to terms and conditions for new employees who join us in the future.
“If we can reach agreement on all of these areas, we believe we will not have to announce any compulsory redundancies within Wightlink.”
Wightlink says that the RMT has made several false claims in its statement. During the first lockdown, unions suggested and agreed that the payment of 20% of everyone’s salaries until the end of September 2020 would be deferred until profit levels again rose to 2019 levels.
Furthermore, Wightlink says shareholders have taken no dividends from the company since the start of the pandemic.
i am guessing the staff have forgotten the widespread lockdown destroying the company revenue and that people have been losing their jobs across the country, with no prospect of getting another.
they really should be grateful they have a job and understand that unless wightlink start seeing passengers travelling again, they won’t just be getting a haircut on pay…they will be getting cut.
The company have stated their forecasted profit of £7 million for this year DURING a pandemic.
Passenger numbers have been above the levels of last year during the times they were operating.
With domestic travel set to be at record levels for next year, Wightlink could not make any redundancies as they wouldnt be able to replace the staff.
A lot of pity for a company that has paid out £45 million to shareholders over the last 3 years.
adrian – that is likely to be an operating profit and not the net profit – they will be lucky if they do not record a stonking great loss this FY.
Government grant – check
Furlough money – check
Staff working on reduced salaries – check
Wightlink recording record numbers for most of summer – check
Even if there is a loss this year, it will be minimal and will be made back tenfold next year when the IOW will be the most exotic destination people can go to on holiday.
When they are being paid over £30,000 to collect tickets they need get into the real world
Would we notice any difference. They barely run a service now Bloody useless
I wonder how these people would think if they were shareholders in Wightlink and Wightlink refused to pay the dividends they had a right to. After all it is the shareholders who have provided the capital which enables Wightlink to exist.
The staff gave up 20% of their salary for 6 months in good faith to help the company survive only to be treated like this shortly before Christmas. I wonder how you would feel if this happened to you.
I wonder how the staff would feel if the company tried taking away their pension and wages they had a right to. After all it is the frontline workers that continually line the pockets of the investment firms.
Wightlink isnt a publicly traded company so the shareholders are millionaire investment companies.
Congrats on the dumbest take on the situation. Well done.
what you forget Jo, is that dividends to shareholders are decided and are then paid out after all salaries and taxes are paid. Wightlink are owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners I LP, who in turn have Wafra as one of their main investors
Wafra have about $26 billion under management and are an investment house that generates returns for its investors. Its investors are, amongst other gropups, pension funds – they rely on dividends and capital gains to generate the above inflation and benchmark returns, they aim for.
FYI wightlinks defined benefit pension scheme invests the money it holds on behalf of employees and former employees into a diversified portfolio of investments – they will have an allocation to infrastructure funds, like basalt, which could theoretically mean the dividends paid by wightlink ultimately end up in the employee pension scheme as part of the return on the investment made
It is not the case of a handful of individuals getting a load of cash at the expense of workers.
So you saying they should give up chunk of their pension for some other pensioner benefit? Something is not right in your story pal, it’s future pensioners who lose out one way or another.
steve – if you do not understand this, then it is hardly worth explaining – those future pensioners will be hoping that the fund managers that look after their pension money will find places to invest that will generate excellent returns, just as pensioners are today.
Well said Sponging. Exactly right.
More wise words from the ‘wannabe’ Oracle.
Wrong Steve idiot child
Let’s hope they don’t invest in SSEN
No one in their right mind would want to be like the oracle
I don’t know why people get bent out of shape about shareholders getting dividends .it’s their money that operates the company and are entitled to get a profit back .as for the unions .nothing but trouble makers and should be banned .
Ah, withdrawing all workers rights. The Tory wet dream.
It worked on scargill and look what happened to all the miners. They wish they had a low paid job now.
Same as the staff are entitled to get their money back…..
Just curious, do you work yourself? Is it on minimum wage with no benefits? Otherwise youre taking shareholders profits yourself.
The staff arent asking for anything extra, just trying to protect what they have already. And for the previous thousand years the shareholders have made more money than all the staff combined.
Yes I do work Thank you. Not on minimum wage and never claimed a benefit in my life .
Well done, now show yourself, rather than hide behind a pseudonym, just saying oh wimpo
Am I right in saying during 1st lockdown the govenment awarded ferry companies money to keep service running for essential supplies etc?
The prices they charge over a long period (without virus) I would have thought their profits would cover such virus events!
Yes! And the staff all went down to 80% salary from April-October (even the working ones) to help out. In repayment the company used the money to hire consultants on how to destroy the staffs pension.
They’ve also had more passengers than usual from the beginning of July, and the last few weeks some of the sailings have been packed because of our tier 1 status.
I say go on strike! You’ll get different feedback from Islanders then.
Dear RF – a 24 carat Golden PR opportunity is in your hands right here right now.
“proposal to close the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme to existing members”
How is that possible? It would be interesting to hear WL’s version of this.
In the meantime, anyone available to give Public Relations tuition to WL directors?
helen – it means that the scheme is closed and all future contributions from members go into the defined contribution scheme – these are far less generous than the defined benefit schemes.
basically – a defined benefit scheme – means that wightlink is required to ensure that the financial benefits you have built up are maintained, in reality it means, that the company must pay money into the retirement scheme, if the value of the investments held on behalf of the members, goes below the legally entitled amount you have accrued over the time you have been paying into it.
The defined contribution scheme that they will move to, which is what has happened across the country to so many other companies, is one where you are totally at the mercy of the stock/bond markets. If the value of your pension fund drops because of the stock market and economic climate, Wightlink do not have to make up the difference, as they have to in the scheme they are going to close.
It also means increasing Wightlinks profits and giving staff a pension fund that you couldnt afford to live on in retirement.
Bottom line is that this has nothing to do with Covid and everything to do with Wightlink just wanting more money.
Hence why the union has said no to this, and protecting the workers
100’a of people would gladly take these jobs at the normal rate. Come on Wightlink staff and RMT. Don’t be such idiots. Hope the government will stand up to you like they did to Scargill and say no. If you want more money do a better job or get another.
Have you read the article? They are not asking for more money. They are fighting to keep their t&cs and a good pension.
Go back and actually read the article and then point out where it says the staff are asking for more money.
We will all be here waiting for you to finish your reading classes.
Dont be such an idiot and embarrass yourself like this.
Not embarrassing myself at all. Does an increase in pension not mean more money. I never stated about wages. Get your facts right. As for reading classes, I can read fine thanks, lucky as my job depends on it.
If your reading is part of your job, read this, either shut up or meet me to discuss this. I doubt you will meet, as you are all talk and no action. Please prove me wrong
Find in the article where it says the union are fighting to INCREASE the pension. They are just fighting to keep it the same. It is the companies proposal to decrease the pension of some and increase it for others.
Government already dropped corporate tax in last ten years… How much money is enough for corporations??? 10 percent tax reduction not enough? Use this money to fund pensions and there would be no issue. Is having descent retirement and wage is too much to ask for?
get lost socialist steve – corporations are set up as profit generating enterprises. They advertise for staff to perform a series of tasks in exchange for an amount of cash – the rest is for the owners. This isn’t a communist state thankfully
Its not about more money! Its the keep what they have
Perky….
I think you will find that the pay figure quoted ‘from companies house’ is NOT the rate of pay that a large number of the Customer facing staff receive!
The Wightlink Management are and always have been notorious for being nowhere to be seen when the service suffers disruption (due either to ‘maintenance’ or bad weather), and it is the terminal staff who have to face the wrath of disgruntled customers.
Some of the terminal staff have been noted to be somewhat ‘caustic’ on occasion by people, but the majority work very hard for their money and frequently in atrocious weather conditions.
The Wightlink Board etc are past masters at taking the Micky out of their staff both in manning levels and hours expected to be worked.
This somewhat ‘Victorian Mill Owner’ approach by the Wightlink Management is nothing less than the staff would expect, and, despite the potential for severe disruption, I for one would applaud the staff for standing up ‘for their rights’ – not so much ‘doing a Scargil’!
Shitelink will still make a profit hope shitelink staff do strike fight for what’s yours
Use red funnel if you don’t like wightlink, dopey
Sack the lot and build a bridge.
Yes what a wonderful idea. By not having a bridge allowing all the covid idiots to freely make their way over has kept us islanders in tier 1!
Think again Einstein.
Ha so how do all the second home owners that are filling the island get here ?
Spaceship!
This seems like a great idea! Less money for staff and more money to shareholders and management bonuses.
Solidarity with all our comrades of the RMT from all of us at Unite.
Tarmac the Solent.
But not by island roads, it wouldn’t last 5 minutes!
Once again prehistoric unions using the only tool they have manipulation of their members to strike.
The fat cat union bosses on their mega wages using their members like pawns to their own political ends.
The only people who will lose is the man in the street
Please do explain your thoughts
absolutely correct ron
it is the customer who ultimately suffers because staff are standing around outside waving flags and not working.
it is the families of the staff that suffer, because the staff are not being paid whilst on strike and then continue to suffer once the most vocal of strikers are sacked at a later date, if not before. (staff forget that the management will make a note of who is and who isn’t working and then find some reason, legally to get rid of them)
The correct process is that a person who is no longer happy to provide their services to wightlink in exchange for the wages agreed, should quit and find another job, instead of wasting everyones times, as well as inconveniencing the customers.
There are loads of people heading to the dole queue, who will happily take those jobs on the new contracts rather than claim benefit – staff should be mindful about striking.
I think that you have missed the whole point here. The staff have already made a wages sacrifice and now expected to carry on being shafted for the benefits of the private equity owners
Usual ignorant trash
One thing none of you are thinking about…..with a defined benefit scheme it gets more and more expensive each year for the company. So if they have to keep putting in more and more millions each year how do you think they cover it….oh yeah ticket prices have to go up more to pay for the extra costs.
Read up about defined benefit pensions. They are a perk that most staff there won’t be getting. If they reject closing the scheme the larger proportion of staff not on it will be losing out on getting a better pension.
I bet you red funnel doesn’t have a defined benefit scheme and offer such good terms and staff have to be more flexible and average pay is less. And therefore they can charge less.
Absolutely incredible how volatile the conversation can become when pensions are mentioned, unless of course, they’re women’s. SIX YEARS of women’s pension were taken in one fell swoop, not by degrees, in one hit. And they were told to shut up, and swallow it. So much tumbleweed. So much bias.
quite rightly so …they were advised in the pensions act of 1995 about this and in numerous communications afterwards – your fault if you weren’t prepared.
you wanted equality – you go it – same age as men for a pension.
The 1995 pensions act was a TWO year hike, then there was a further two year hike and finally an escalated under the carpet job to raise funds to pay off part the national debt. So not 2 years, 6 you ignoramus and less than 5% of the 3.8Million affected got letters, if they were lucky. Get your facts right. This is EXACTLY the type of attitude I’m talking about. You’re a stereotype case in point by your obvious lack of knowledge and attitude.
What is wrong with this world we are facing the worst crises in our history people are losing their jobs left right and centre.
Children are going hungry .Wightlink staff have a captive audience as it’s islanders who in the end up paying for all this.
We have seen year on year out ferry increases far above inflation as the shareholders and staff demand more and more.
In the end something has to give the government and our MP are not interested.
We cannot have the best of everything all of the time unions have to wake up and realize this fact. The time this is all over there is going to be thousands clambering over one another to have such a secure job.