Sir,
It is good news that CalMac and the RMT have come to an agreement over the terms and conditions that are to be included in the contract for lifeline ferry services to the Outer Hebrides. The pay, pensions and conditions of staff should be at the very heart of any public contract that is going out to tender.
The question is why were these terms and conditions not in the contract in the first place? Why did the government allow the recent disruption, the uncertainly for travellers and the economic damage to the tourism industry? It could have ensured from the outset that current terms and conditions would be binding for any successful bidder and avoided the unnecessary disruption for the public and uncertainty for CalMac staff.
Perhaps there is a reason. A contract free from the constraints of protecting terms and conditions for employees would be far more attractive for a conglomerate such as Serco with a record for cutting jobs and routes. There is a clear drive here by a determined civil service and impressionable ministers to see our life line ferry services hived off to the private sector. Hopefully the agreement between CalMac and the RMT makes this less likely. The agreement will leave less wriggle room for Serco to slash and burn and just perhaps makes the contract that much less attractive. Let's hope so.
What we need now is for the government to suspend the tendering process and seek a derogation from the EU. The requirement for life line ferry services to be put out to competitive tendering has never been legally tested by this Government or previous administrations. In the rush to see these services privatised there has been no effort to seek clarification from the EU on this issue.
CalMac is far from perfect and improvements need to be made in the way they communicate and work with the communities they serve. But those who say we might get a better service from Serco should be careful what they wish for. The prospect of our life line ferry services being lost to the private sector will make cooperation less likely and those who run them less accountable.
Cllr Crichton
Loch a Tuath Ward
42a Upper Coll
Back
Isle of Lewis
Letter: Call to suspend ferry tendering process
6 Aug 2015