I am seeking help and support from the public in Bootle / Liverpool area to attend a public protest against Seatruck Ferries which operates in the Irish between Liverpool and Dublin.



I am seeking help and support from the public in Bootle / Liverpool area to attend a public protest against Seatruck Ferries which operates in the Irish between Liverpool and Dublin. This operator has made Millions of pounds in recent years since but exploits Seafarers by paying them less than £4 per per hour!!!!

The company chooses not to use local labour nor does it invest in training of future UK or Irish Seafarers and prefers a model whereby the Seafarers work a minimum of 12 hours per day, 7 days per week for 2 months at a time. Even though it is a UK company they do not comply with National Minimum wage legislation and they do not comply with pension provision regulations.

Good Ferry operators pay a decent wage for a decent days work, provide pensions, acknowledge the challenges and demands of Seafarers and agree with unions that a safe roster is either 1 or 2 weeks of work at a time followed by an equal period of rest.

This company chooses a business model reliant upon exploitation and non compliance with UK legislation yet the Maritime business’ of Merseyside gave it an award in 2018 for business of the year??

Low cost operators not only exploit Seafarers but threaten the jobs of UK and Irish Seafarers working for reputable operators who employ UK and Irish Seafarers on terms and conditions negotiated by trade unions by offering cheaper crossings and competing for business.

We are seeking the support of Seafarers, Trade unionists and members of the public who agree that exploitation has no place on the banks of the Mersey or within the Irish Sea. Join us to demand that UK and Irish Seafarers are employed on safe roster patterns, decent terms and conditions, proper rates of pay and given a pension for transporting goods between Liverpool and Ireland.

Please share on social media and join us for 1 hour tomorrow (Friday) between 7.45 and 9am to send a clear message that this is not acceptable and fight for jobs for UK and Seafarers of today and of tomorrow!!!






28 November 2018
RMT Press Office:
RMT Irish Sea campaign day of action in Liverpool on Friday in fight for pay justice
RMT’s campaigning in the Irish Sea will turn to ‘low-cost’ operator Seatruck in Liverpool this Friday with an early morning protest at the company’s depot at Brocklebank Dock as the union steps up the fight for pay and workplace justice.

The Liverpool protest, part of a day of action and a wider RMT campaign, will take place as follows:


7.45am, Friday 30th November 2018

Seatruck Ferry Terminal,

Brocklebank Dock, 

Port of Liverpool L20 1DB. 

RMT is targeting Seatruck’s second morning sailing. This company moves nearly a quarter of all freight on Irish Sea routes and that growth is built on the exploitation of EU Ratings paid as little as £3.78 per hour. Seatruck has consistently rejected RMT’s requests for recognition, yet the company has received an award from Mersey Maritime for its business model. RMT’s collective action will link the issue of local seafarer jobs and pay to the companies that use this cut-throat operator. 
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“The Irish Sea should be the bedrock of employment for UK and Irish Ratings. Instead, companies like Seatruck have grown by exploiting seafarers from other EU countries on basic rates of pay as low as £3.78 per hour in order to undercut competitors in the growing Irish Sea freight market.

“ This scandal is driving the decline in UK and Irish Ratings which no island economy can seriously tolerate. Our campaign also aims to secure the changes to UK law required to prevent Seatruck and other shipping companies from avoiding the NMW and undercutting local seafarers to reward directors and the ultimate owner, Clipper Group of Denmark. 

“As we approach Brexit, the UK needs to get its house in order, starting with increases in UK Ratings’ jobs and training at companies like Seatruck where maritime freight growth is built on seafarer exploitation.”

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