CUNARD has hit back at union
criticism of its employment practices after dismissing reports of staff
walkouts on Queen Mary 2.
Reports up to 90 staff walked out
have been rejected as “nonsense” by Cunard senior vice-president for Europe
Peter Shanks, who said there have been just five resignations since June out of
1,258 staff.
But now Cunard has come under fire
from shipping union RMT over the employment of foreign nationals on QM2.
RMT union general secretary Bob
Crow is concerned about pay levels for foreign staff. He said: “The RMT has
sought but not received details of pay and conditions on QM2. The ship should
be crewed by UK nationals, on UK pay and conditions.”
But Cunard claimed the RMT does
have details of conditions on QM2 as unions were consulted as part of the
ship’s design process. Shanks said pay levels are confidential. He insisted
Cunard has a close relationship with unions and staff, adding employees were
thoroughly trained in France and motivation was good. A Cunard spokesman said
the employment of foreign nationals is widespread across the industry.