Supporting officer trainees is at heart of Union’s UK branch conference motions

Enhancing support for Merchant Navy cadets in their training and careers are key themes of motions that Nautilus members will be putting to the October 2017 UK Branch Conference.

Members attending the Hull conference on Tuesday 3 October are due to dicuss five motions, addressing subjects such as certification requirements for newly qualified officers and sea service certification in densely navigated areas of the UK coastline.

One of the motions reflects a debate at the Nautilus jobs seminar during London International Shipping Week on the complexities faced by newly-qualified officers. It notes the difficulties faced by tonnage tax cadets in particular in getting work outside the sector in which they trained and it calls for Nautilus to find ways to support such officers in gaining specific additional certification required by some companies.

Another motion on sea service in areas of categorised waters around the UK – Category D waters – calls for the Union to investigate why the Maritime & Coastguard Agency has changed the rules of qualifying time for these areas. The ability to work for these coastal operators is especially vital for newly qualified officers as many of the larger sea-going companies will only recruit higher grades for junior positions in the current climate, the motion notes.

Other motions address the nomination process for the Nautilus Bevis Minter Award – which honours officer trainees who display particular determination and commitment or who have had to overcome special challenges during their training – how to broaden support for LGBT members, and a proposal to make it easier, to submit motions online ahead of Union meetings.