Unite is calling for urgent talks with RNLI management over the charity’s plans to consolidate its lifeboat manufacturing into one site, in Dorset, and close its Inshore Lifeboat Centre (ILC) in East Cowes, Isle of Wight.

The lifeboat charity confirmed last week that it will move production from the ILC to its manufacturing site at its Lifesaving Support Centre in Poole, Dorset, by the end of 2027.

The union has warned that the move puts the jobs of 70 people working at the IoW centre at risk.

RNLI chief engineer and technical director, Ross Barraclough said in a statement last week that the charity will focus on “supporting colleagues through this period of change and to prioritise helping them find alternative roles and plan their futures”.

The charity has also said that during 2027 “more clarity will be given on potential opportunities such as redeployment and development”.

But the union’s regional officer Jamie Major said: “Our immediate focus is to gain more clarity for our members and therefore we are demanding an urgent meeting with management.

“Our members deserve honesty from their employer and the RNLI must also find more realistic options for its staff than relocating to an area they cannot afford.”

Since the plans to move its manufacturing operations to Poole were first mooted last year workers have been looking to secure formal recognition of Unite, with negotiations around this move ongoing.

An RNLI spokesperson told Charity Times that “conversations and engagement with Unite are ongoing and progressing well” and “we will continue to engage with our employees to ensure continued consultation on providing the right support for them”.

They added that the charity has “carefully considered the request from Unite” and so far initial talks with staff have been using the “existing employee support forum” with a “specific forum” created for impacted workers.

“RNLI staff from the ILC who are members, were able to be accompanied by Unite or any union at any individual meetings,” the spokesperson said.

‘Uncertainty’ for staff

Unite warns that while the IoW base is to remain open for another year and a half its members at the centre say they “only have enough work to last them until February” which is “leaving them with a lot of uncertainty”.

The RNLI’s statement last week said that its decision to move operations to Poole follows a review of its manufacturing requirements that “determined that future production can be delivered efficiently and effectively from one site”.

The charity added that the IoW centre requires “more than £5 million in capital investment to remain compliant for legislation on building and testing conditions” while the site in Poole is “a newer, larger facility with ability to take on the wider manufacturing requirements of the RNLI future fleet”.

Barraclough added: “Use of the sea around the UK is changing - our data shows 98% of all RNLI rescues are now within 10 nautical miles of the shore compared to years ago when demand was further offshore.

“For us to continue delivering our core purpose of saving lives at sea, the charity needs to evolve and respond to the changing demand placed on our service.”

---