Coastguard pay

chanelyacht

chanelyacht

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As you may know, qualified, experienced Coastguard officers on the lower grades are paid less than MacDonalds staff. These are not typists - they assist fully in the receipt, planning and coordination of search and rescue incidents.

The Government commissioned a report on CG pay, which recommended parity with the other emergency services. Needless to say, the report was shelved and the recommendations ignored.

If you value your SAR services, please visit http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Coastguard/

Thanks

Simon
 
I value the CG service greatly and believe they should be paid at least as much as other emergency service coordinators.

What is the full salary including shift allowances etc for a trained CG officer?If you want peoples support they need to be fully aware of the facts.Making unquantified comparisons with Mc Donalds burger friers isnt helpfull to the cause.

Good Luck with the campaign . I have allready signed Cheers Graham
 
Thanks Graham. The approximate pay bands are :

Coastguard Watch Assistant - around £11k + 25% shift allowance

Coastguard Watch Officer - around £14k plus shift allowance

If HMCG are to continue to require merchant marine experience before joining at the Watch Officer grade, it would appear sensible that they offer a better salary than most deck cadets get!

I used the MacDonalds analogy as most people relate to a specific job role, rather than a pure salary.

Thanks for supporting!

Simon
 
Even a 100% rise wouldnt put them in the lap of luxury.Something to consider when getting ready for your new years party,every day/night is just another shift on the rota for the CG officers.
 
Can I believ anyone works for 14K in that responsible job.

Don't policelets start at 23k????

How can anyone in this wonderful country begin to hope to own a bloomin house if they are on that pittance.

OK for starters but after a couple of years experience they (anyone ) must be worth more thatn that.

Just to add I run my own biz, so may out of touch with the realistic world re wgaes etc, BUT....................................
 
[ QUOTE ]
I appear to have 'signed' twice in quick succession a while ago, does that mean I will get in trouble?

[/ QUOTE ] 80 quid fine and 3 points on your VHF license I expect /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
As a newbie you may not know that this petition has already done the rounds several times. But I shall take advantage of this and sign again.

hanks.

John
 
A great line...

[ QUOTE ]
As you may know, qualified, experienced Coastguard officers on the lower grades are paid less than MacDonalds staff.

[/ QUOTE ]It's a great line, but regrettably not true. The PCS union has successfully “spun” this story. I understand that it's the Coastguard Watch Assistants whose basic pay (before allowances) is just above minimum wage. As far as I can see, there are perhaps only 200 of these, they're mainly new(ish) recruits, they are always supervised, they don't require any formal qualifications or experience to join. With promotion and responsibility, they will earn more. Office juniors get low pay: that's how the world works.

The PCS union has used the entry-level pay of Watch Assistants to present an emotive case for coastguard pay. All this mention of minimum wage conveniently omits any mention of shift allowances (an extra 25% shift allowance is paid). Nor is there any mention of other allowances in the pay structure, such as "typing allowance" or "skill supplement". Nothing's said about the free uniforms, or the 30 days paid holiday a year (plus the 10.5 days public and privilege holidays). And there's no mention of their index-linked final salary Civil Service pension scheme. This is a package that staff in McDonald's could only dream of.
 
Re: A great line...

[ QUOTE ]
Index linked to a base rate pay is not such a great deal.

[/ QUOTE ]You'll probably find that by retirement age they're on a bit more than basic rate. If you look at the 2007 MCA Annual Report, the MCA has around 1200 staff paid a total of around £31million in wages and salaries. On average, that's about £26K a year, rather higher than minimum wage.
 
Re: A great line...

still not a great deal for what they are expected to do (and much higher than I get currently, so I'm not talking from a position of earning a huge amount)
 
Re: A great line...

So add together all the goodies you've outlined & they still get a pittance. Bear in mind the mayday sent by your crew when you fall off the back of your boat will be handled by a watch assistant. Together with a watch officer this guy will then co-ordinate the search. He'll task the various resources from lifeboats, helecopters and shore teams. He'll calculate the search area using time and tidal info. He'll run the whole thing.

Contast this with the ambulance dispatcher (not knocking them at all) who aswers the 999 calls. They ask a few questions promted by a computer screen and then task an ambulance. They get payed more than the watch assistants I believe. So do just about everyone else in the emergency services.
 
Re: A great line...

[ QUOTE ]
Office juniors get low pay: that's how the world works.

[/ QUOTE ]

Office juniors dont coordinate lifesaving operations at sea.
I anticipated a reply like this which is why I suggested the real figures be posted . There up there in black and white.

Do you begrudge these people a pension? Do you begrudge them holidays or free uniforms .You cant pay mortgages with free uniforms .Get in the real world please.
 
Re: A great line...

[ QUOTE ]
still not a great deal for what they are expected to do

[/ QUOTE ]Not sure whether you or I know exactly what they do. In 2006, watchkeeping staff coordinated on average 41.33 incidents each - allowing for holidays that's about 1 a week. And "incidents" aren't necessarily maydays from boaty folk, they include a lot of things like walkers late returning, old people going missing, etc.
 
Re: A great line...

[ QUOTE ]
I anticipated a reply like this which is why I suggested the real figures be posted . There up there in black and white.

[/ QUOTE ]And unfortunately wrong. Starting pay isn't "around £11K" plus 25% shift allowance, it's over £12K plus 25% shift allowance.
 
Re: A great line...

You do seem very well informed on this PVB .Why would someone with no axe to grind do so much research?

Put your cards on the table and answer the question previously put to you.Are you in some way involved in this dispute or not?
 
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