12th JUNE - Coastguard Unionised In a Week!
I set up this group on the 2nd of June with a clear focus: to achieve a means for collective bargaining. That means stopping being individuals, and recognising that the pay offer we are going to receive is not “individual” – what we are or aren’t paid for is something that affects us all. What the service looks like if it becomes a fully unremunerated volunteer model is not “individual” either; it will affect us all.
The new model will impact us as coastguard rescue officers, our families who we rely on to support us when we answer a call to help, the service we dedicate our time to, and the communities that we live in and serve.
Last week we had our first online meeting with GMB, who told us that if there is a spike in membership – if as many CROs as possible join GMB now – then the more we can do. It is as simple as that. If we do nothing, then nothing changes.
And wow, did we mobilise! GMB were at their National Congress last week … and the place was buzzing – I heard words like “phenomenal” and “momentous,” and that’s you, each and every one of you who joined.
GMB were so impressed with what we managed to achieve that they were watching the membership numbers grow daily, hourly. They put forward an Emergency Motion to support CROs, which was passed on Tuesday 9th June – and it was fantastic, you can watch it here.
On Wednesday 10th June, we had mobilised enough to have 10% of CROs join GMB trade union – this is enough for GMB to file for voluntary recognition as our trade union for CROs.
On Thursday there was a wide range of press, with lots of local stories continuing to cover the story and people sharing these on Facebook and in our GMB/CRO WhatsApp group – which, yes, we set up on Sunday!
Thanks to all your patience as our 25 amazing admins took on the task of verifying GMB membership and adding people into the right areas, the WhatsApp group now has 325 members, with individual channels for each of our areas, a general chat for CROs across our nations to speak to each other, and a place for announcements. It’s honestly a work of wonder, and huge thanks go to our digital communicator, CRO Matt Greatorex, who made it happen. Details of how to join are in the comments – come join, it’s busy, it’s inspiring, and it’s great to be in solidarity with fellow CROs.
We also now have a digital archive of press-ready photos of CROs (not lifeboats!) – huge thanks to Jo Hanley Aitchison, professional photographer extraordinaire, and everyone who contributed to this.
We also have amazing logos and graphics from the talented Kerr Scott, who only joined our CRO team last month and quietly slipped a logo across to me last week – look around, look what a talented bunch of CROs we are! You can access the generic CCB logos through the photo link above to help get the word out about this group and our campaign. We’re meeting over the weekend to look at t-shirts, mugs, and car bumper stickers.
Thursday also brought national press, with the BBC running radio segments, BBC online news, and a feature on both the lunchtime and evening news on BBC Scotland.
We had our weekly online meeting, hosted by GMB and attended by 145 (with many more watching from stations – approximately 200 CROs in total). I shared the details of the key themes of our consultation, which sought your views on concerns around the proposed settlement, the loss of workers’ rights, and the future volunteer model; concerns for the future of the service, both general and specific to local or specialist teams; and outcomes and actions. I might have missed things – it’s been a week!
Next Steps
We continue to build – we are just at the start here. If you are already a member of GMB, talk to one other person about joining up and joining you. If you are not a member, why not? If you are waiting for something big, momentous, or proof of a union happening – it’s big, it will go down in history, and it has already happened. It’s simple: the more people, the more leverage. We have two and a half months to stop this. Once it’s gone, it is gone forever; you won’t get your worker rights, your remuneration, or your teammates with all their knowledge and skills back again.
No one thought we could unionise the coastguards in a week – not the MCA, and honestly, not even GMB. Not many joined when we got workers’ rights in January, nor when the MCA decided not to fight it in March. On the 1st of June we heard about the proposed fully volunteer model. On the 2nd of June I started this campaign, and I will not stop campaigning until the very last second – but I need you to come out and support your fellow CROs, the ones who can’t afford to lose remuneration and will have to leave. If you want volunteer-only options, great – come add your voice to this. We can collectively bargain for some volunteer options and some paid work options. We are fighting for consultation and concessions to achieve a better, fairer outcome for all of us.
There is also a petition that has gained traction – there’s nothing to lose by signing it. We won’t win change on that alone, but it is one tool to show strength of feeling. Please write to your MP, and ask your family and local communities to write to their MP too, asking them to sign this Early Day Motion.
We are building and showing strength of feeling. From next week, the structural parts of the union will start to come together – local reps, local campaigns, and national campaigns. Let’s keep up the good work, and let’s remember we are in this together – not as union members or non-union members, but as one CRO family. We are a team, and we will support each other through this.
– Kelly
