Almost 600 Coastguards back vote of no confidence in Maritime and Coastguard Agency chief executive
“It's pretty disrespectful.”
Almost 600 Coastguards across the UK have backed a vote of no confidence in the chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
GMB Union wrote to MCA chair Lord Stevens in July to “formally express our lack of confidence in the leadership of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency under Chief Executive Virginia McVea”.
Since then, 580 Coastguards have signed up to the no confidence vote. Lord Stevens has thus far not responded to GMB, prompting the union to write a further letter to “formally escalate the concerns previously raised”.
Coastguards are calling for an expression of no confidence, an independent review into leadership culture, the opportunity to submit evidence to the review and a clear timetable for responding to concerns raised.
Nicola Savage, GMB National Officer said: "These life-saving workers have already told Lord Stevens in no uncertain terms they are unhappy with the chief exec. It's pretty disrespectful they haven't yet had a response – but hopefully the hundreds of signatures on the vote of no confidence might give him a bit of a nudge.
"Coastguards give their time, skills and even risk their lives to keep people safe. They need to know their boss is right behind them – and after the shambles of the renumeration payments, that's just not how they feel about Ms McVea."
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
All the latest news and top stories from across Blackpool and the Fylde coast directly to your phone.
Never miss a thing. Click here to join
The development comes after the MCA recently scrapped plans to cut remuneration for Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs), saying it had “listened” to Coastguards.
Plans to end payments for thousands of volunteer CROs were halted at the 11th hour, with Minister for Transport Keir Mather announcing that the MCA would no longer proceed with proposals to stop hourly remuneration for attending incidents and training exercises.
CROs play a vital role in responding to emergencies, carrying out rescues and searching for missing people along the UK's coastline, including in Scotland, Wales and England's south coast. GMB has now escalated its concerns over the agency's leadership, with the union calling for greater scrutiny of its culture and a formal response to the concerns raised by Coastguards.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was approached for comment.