"Wholly inadequate" Royal Fleet Auxiliary pay offer rejected as sailors leave as they "can't afford to stay"

Members of The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) have not accepted a 4.5 per cent increase. Industrial action, and action short of a strike, is still possible for Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) sailors, who support the Royal Navy on various deployments across the globe.

The RMT union described the offer as “wholly inadequate and failing to address years of below-inflation offers, minimum wage concerns and a growing retention crisis across the service”.

General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “This pay offer falls short of our members expectations based on their years of dedication and service. Years of real terms falling behind in pay have left RFA seafarers worse off, and management still cannot show if all of our members are even being paid at least the minimum wage for the hours they are required to work.”

Successive pay deals below the Retail Price Index have seen sailors’ real terms salaries fall. The RMT said RFA management have been unable to demonstrate that pay rates comply with the legal minimum wage once the actual hours worked are calculated. RFA sailors are classed as civilians, despite often being deployed in conflict zones.

Seafarers often work up to 12 hours a day, with no clear formula for how pay is calculated against these hours. Mr Dempsey added: “The absence of a transparent system for calculating pay, combined with excessive working hours, has created an unsustainable situation.

"Skilled and experienced seafarers doing incredibly important and often dangerous work around the globe are leaving the service because they cannot afford to stay, creating serious retention problems that threaten RFA's effectiveness. Our members deserve a pay deal that reflects the work they do, deals with the issue around complying with legal minimum standards, and addresses the recruitment and retention crisis now facing the service.”

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Sailors took to the streets in Portsmouth on several occasions in 2024 before a pay offer was accepted at the beginning of 2025. As well as pay, seafarers spoke of rampant staff shortages, outdated equipment, and employees being “harassed” into returning to work early to fill in gaps on deployments.

The strike ballot closes on February 17. Members of the Nautilus International union are also being balloted for strike action, or action short of a strike.

Director of organising Martyn Gray said: “The RFA offer is so far below member expectations that it has been rejected and our ongoing ballot on industrial action continues."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been approached for comment.