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Thursday, 9th September 2010

Navy workers' fears over RFA jobs

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Published Date: 06 November 2009
THOUSANDS of navy workers are fighting for their jobs as the force prepares to cut its auxiliary staff, The News can reveal.
At a special meeting in Portsmouth, shocked employees were told the entire Royal Fleet Auxiliary could be replaced by private workers and vessels.

The RFA flotilla is the lifeline of the navy, delivering fuel, food, stores and ammunition to warshi
ps in both peace and wartime.

Workers were told that heavy pressure from the Treasury had forced the Ministry of Defence to show it can cut costs across the board.

The navy believes it can save millions by swapping civil servants and MoD vessels for private alternatives – available more readily during the recession.

But RFA sources say the move is a 'short-term suicide' that would rob the navy of centuries of experience on the front line.

A serving RFA worker, who was at the meeting at navy headquarters on Whale Island in Portsmouth, said: 'It's absolutely shocking. I couldn't believe the scope of what was being outlined.

'We knew that there were tough times ahead, but they told us we've got a couple of months to make a case.

'There are thousands of workers who now have to fight for their jobs in the run-up to Christmas.'

Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, who sits on the Commons defence committee, said it would be 'completely detrimental to the navy's ability to do its job'.

'I'm fully behind the RFA because they have decades of experience and they know what it takes to work well while under pressure of warfare,' he said.

'If you had private companies doing this job you would have the taxpayer shelling out premiums if they ever faced risk.

'It's something that they think will make a quick win, but it's really clutching at straws.'

More details are expected to emerge in two to three months' time, when the MoD review is prepared for a pre-budget report.

A Royal Navy spokesman based at Whale Island, Portsmouth, said: 'We will be undertaking a value-for-money review of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

'We are continually looking at how we can maximise the benefit that we obtain from the resources that are given to us and this review is part of that activity.'



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  • Last Updated: 06 November 2009 9:26 PM
  • Source: The News
  • Location: Portsmouth
 
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spyglass,

cheltenham 07/11/2009 08:51:54
as an ex member of the Royal Air Force who had the 'pleasure' of serving on a Royal Navy destroyer during the Falklands campaign i read the article with disbelief.

Throughout the campaign i was astonished at the efficiency of the RFA. keeping an armada of ships supplied with fuel, water and food etc was a gargantuan task yet every time we pitched up at a predesignated point there would be the replenishment ships ready and waiting. this expertise comes about from years of experience, hard work and dedication not something you can just buy off the shelve at a supermarket.

where would these so called private workers and vessels come from? what would be the attitude of private workers going into a war zone? we have read and seen in afghanistan the outcome of government money saving efforts in the defence budget. currently the equation seems to be save £1 million lose a life. at a time when politicians should be attempting to show that they have the interests of the country at heart and not lining their pockets the sheer cynicism of wanting to save a few pounds and put more lives at risk is breath taking.

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Arnold Rimmer,

Portsmouth 07/11/2009 09:48:08
spyglass, I'll tell you where these ships and crews will come from, Liberia and Panama! They will be unable to speak Englaish and understand the way the RN works! Still it's cheap until the time when they are required to go to a war zone! These Marxists in power DO NOT care about the security of the Nation or the rights of it's citizens. Earlier this week our Sovereignty was handed over to the EUSSR and this is just another step in handing over our military capability! These politicians should be taken to the Tower, hanged, drwan and quartered, their heads stuck on a spike on Traitors Gate!
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bladesblue,

Fareham 07/11/2009 16:59:57
With our Governments all out sourcing off shore we could be not only borrowing French Carriers but replenishing them from Russian ships.
Nobody stops to think what happens when the services are provided by the enemy though.
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SMJ,

Plymouth 08/11/2009 16:56:44
My husband is RFA. He and the rest of the crews, male and female, work exceptionally long,hard,hours and with pride. Can you see any private company doing the same?. My husband can be away for 8 months of the year, but, as a family, we know that his job matters, to both the Armed Forces that they supply, of ANY nationality, and the people on the sea that they help when in distress, whether by natural disaster or acts of terrorism. Despite being with the RFA for 9 yrs, this article was the first he knew about the possible 'shut down' of the RFA. After joining the RFA, he felt like he was back to working in an environment that he loves, only to find that once again, the Govt is penny pinching in the extreme. Our Armed Forces have been cut to the bone, our National Heritage and pride is being decimated on a daily basis, what next, lose being British as an individual identity?. Would the Germans or French nations allow that?, there would be riots in the streets. What has happened to this country that we ACCEPT all this?. God forbid, but if there was another Falklands, we wouldn't be able to muster a war cry, let alone a Fleet to preserve what is good about Britain.
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sheena-b,

SOUTHSEA 09/11/2009 22:09:39
My daughter is in the RFA, as her dad before her - flying out to the Gulf before Xmas to join her ship for at least 4 months. This is an absolutely despicable act of treachery on the part of the RN AND this government! We have seen Gordon Brown break the economy now he wants to break the country's defences - because that is just what will happen! HOW on earth can you put the RN in such a position - relying on outside contractors? For those who think the RFA are just oilers and victuallers - THEY ARE NOT! They carry sensitive equipement, ammunition, vehicles, troops .... you name it they carry it! They refuel allied vessels as well as our own. In fact the navy wouldn't get very far without them .... literally! Do we want a second rate service with staff from who knows where .... with access to who knows what? I cannot believe that 95 years since World War 1 began that we have come to this! The RFA have often been regarded as second rate to the RN - often overlooked despite the willingness of their crew to become Royal Naval Reservists when entering into the theatre of war! Overlooked despite their assistance in helping the US Coastguard in their fight against drug runners and pirates - with even the catering staff laying down their trays, forsaking their safety and manning guns. Every crew member is a fully trained professional, fit and can be relied upon to do their duty! Do we want to see these guys thrown on the scrap heap .... and for what? For those in the Navy contemplating this desecration - REMEMBER the SIR GALAHAD (LOST) - SIR TRISTRAM (HIT) - SIR LANCELOT (HIT) and the other 19 ships fully manned by their civilian crews (22 out their 27 ships) - REMEMBER the men lost in these ships and other merchant vessels they were seconded to like ATLANTIC CONVEYOR (LOST) - REMEMBER those RFA crew who died serving their country in ALL WARS! They were officially recognised for the work they have done last year when they were given the Queen's colour by Prince Edward, Du
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sheena-b,

SOUTHSEA 09/11/2009 22:11:31
CONT: they were given the Queen's colour by Prince Edward, Duke of Wessex - now the government want to give them the boot! Destroy the RFA and you will be damned to hell and taking us with you! THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!! For this to appear the day after Remembrance Sunday is just beyond belief..... We must not let the last act of sabotage of this government be the loss of the RFA!!!! A Downing Street on line petition is called for!
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