Seafarer pay and conditions at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

That this House notes the pay dispute between 1,700 civilian seafarers, the recognised trade unions, including the RMT and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA); applauds the hard work of RFA seafarers which involves over 65% of the Royal Navy's task tasking on top of their own work, on a reduced fleet affected by an ongoing recruitment and retention crisis; notes that pay awards to RFA seafarers since 2010 to date have been nearly 10% lower than the Armed Forces and nearly 50% behind the RPI rate of inflations; is concerned that the RFA's capacity to discharge the UK's responsibilities to provide international humanitarian relief in response to natural disasters in the climate change era is currently reduced; notes that the 2024-25 pay dispute in the RFA was successfully resolved by all parties; welcomes the development of a collective bargaining agreement between the recognised trade unions and the RFA, including contractual formulae determining a seafarer's hourly rate of pay, the financial value of earned voyage leave and expected hours of work; and urges the government to continue working with the RMT and other maritime trade unions to reach an agreement that continues to address the impact of austerity on the value of pay, conditions and welfare, and improves retention rates amongst RFA seafarers.