Plans to axe pay for coastguard volunteer callouts will 'seriously' impact islands

Plans from the coastguard to stop paying volunteers for callouts could have “serious implications” for Shetland, the chairman of the local community safety and resilience board says.

Councillor Allison Duncan also said the board should write a letter expressing its concerns about the move.

It emerged recently that the UK Government-funded Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is to remove the ability for coastguard rescue volunteers to claim around £11 per hour for callouts and attending training exercises.

It followed a legal judgement involving the case of a former rescue officer, who took the MCA to an employment appeal tribunal over the status of volunteers. This meant that rescue officers would be treated as workers rather than volunteers.

Speaking at a meeting of the community safety and resilience board on Wednesday, Duncan expressed concern at the move.

He said he was disappointed that no one from the coastguard was in attendance at the meeting of the board, which hears updates from Shetland’s emergency services.

Duncan said he would like to know more about the matter and has requested a meeting with the local coastguard leader.

“We have to show our support for the coastguard agency here in Shetland,” he said.

“I would sincerely hope that what’s happening at the moment, that there could be a pause and reflection on the legal judgement that’s been taken.”

Duncan added that it is “not a case of doing nothing”.

“The work that the Shetland coastguard volunteers have done in the past has been paramount and essential throughout Shetland,” he said.

“If we lose these volunteers, goodness knows what will happen next.”

Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has also spoken out over the matter, saying the coastguard is an “integral part of our emergency services in the isles”.

“No one volunteers with the coastguard for the sake of the remuneration involved, but those payments matter, both as recognition of the dangerous and important work that volunteers do, and as a way to make such volunteering financially viable,” he said.

“Cutting such remuneration is likely to undermine morale amongst local crews, harm future recruitment of volunteers, and could even risk causing active resignations from the service.”

Meanwhile, the GMB’s annual congress in Blackpool vowed on Tuesday to fight the move on behalf of hundreds of union members.

GMB Scotland’s Lynsay Mackay said: “If we want a strong, resilient coastguard for the future, we must make sure that those who step forward are supported, not penalised.

“If you save lives, you deserve respect. If you carry out work, you deserve rights. And when those rights are threatened, GMB stands with you.”

A spokesperson for the MCA previously said: “After careful consideration, we are moving the coastguard rescue service to a revised volunteer model, to best protect the future of the service.

“This decision follows a legal judgment, which means we need to change how the service operates. This new model protects choice, flexibility and the ability for people to volunteer alongside their primary employment.

“We deeply value and recognise the significant service coastguard rescue officers provide along our coastline, and we will be supporting them during this transition.

“The coastguard rescue service will continue to maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response, ensuring the highest quality of service and levels of safety.”

The MCA had also said volunteers would continue to receive training, equipment, uniforms, personal protective equipment and operational support under the new arrangements.