'Scandal' - Major development to Maritime and Coastguard Agency plans to cut life-saving volunteers' pay

Plans to end payments for thousands of volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers have been halted after a successful campaign by the GMB union.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Minister for Transport Keir Mather announced that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) would no longer proceed with proposals to stop hourly remuneration for attending incidents and training exercises.

Coastguard Rescue Officers (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.

The proposed changes followed a landmark legal case brought by the GMB union, in which the Court of Appeal upheld a judgment classifying coastguards as workers. The MCA subsequently moved to remove the payments, but the decision has now been reversed following a sustained campaign by GMB Coastguards.

In recent weeks, the union had also challenged the MCA to reveal whether it had carried out risk assessments before deciding to withdraw the remuneration, warning the changes could have implications for public safety.

GMB wrote to MCA chief executive Virginia McVea requesting the publication of surveys, reports and risk assessments relating to the Coastguard Rescue Officer service. The union said the announcement marks a significant victory for coastguards and the union, bringing an end to the proposed changes to the long-standing remuneration arrangements.

‘A scandal’

Nicola Savage, GMB National Officer, said: “This is a richly deserved win for GMB’s coastguards, who took their campaign across the UK and into the corridors of power. It was a scandal that these brave, life-saving workers would have their pay cut. But Ministers have listened and done the right thing.”

On the Fylde coast, concerns regarding the proposed changes were echoed by MPs representing coastal communities.

Fylde MP Andrew Snowden said he had continued to hear from Coastguard Rescue Officers worried about the impact the changes could have on recruitment and retention. He said: “This is particularly important in Fylde, where Coastguard Rescue Officers provide an essential emergency response across a heavily used stretch of coastline."

Blackpool North and Fleetwood MP Lorraine Beavers also questioned the decision, highlighting the vital role volunteers play along the Fylde coast. She said: “Coastguard Rescue Officers' play a vital role in keeping our coastal community safe and it is deeply concerning to hear that volunteers will no longer receive remuneration for their life-saving duties.

“In Blackpool North & Fleetwood we know exactly how important our volunteer coastguards are, we see them save lives and go out on hundreds of call outs a year. [Recently], Coastguard officers spotted 20 teenagers in the sea off Bispham. Without our heroic coastguards it could have been a lot worse."