Minister and maritime boss accused of misleading MPs over plan to stop coastguard officers’ pay
Summary
A government minister and a senior maritime official have been accused of giving false information to Members of Parliament (MPs) about plans to stop paying coastguard rescue officers (CROs) for their work. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) wants to classify CROs as volunteers instead of workers, which would end their hourly pay starting in September, but MPs and coastguard officers disagree with this plan.Key Facts
- Keir Mather, the maritime minister, and Virginia McVea, head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, have been accused of misleading MPs.
- The government plans to stop paying coastguard rescue officers hourly wages from September.
- A court of appeal ruled in January that CROs are workers, not volunteers, partly because they received pay for their callout time.
- The MCA wants to reclassify CROs as volunteers to stop paying them, despite the court ruling.
- MPs said the government falsely claimed the court decision changed CROs’ legal status; the court only confirmed they were already workers.
- The MCA admitted the court did not require any specific plan to change pay or status.
- A survey by MCA claimed most CROs support the volunteer model, but data showed the survey did not directly ask this and results were mixed.
- MCA refused to explain how it used survey results to support ending payments to CROs.
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