'Overworked and underpaid' Royal Fleet Auxiliary members vote to strike

Members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) have voted to strike in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Nautilus International trade union backed industrial action by 4-1 on a turnout of 60%.

The ballot follows the rejection of a 4.5% pay offer for 2023 which the union said fell "far below" the rate of inflation.

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"Since 2010, RFA employees have faced real terms pay cut of over 30%, beyond other blue light services, leading to significant challenges in recruitment and retention and low morale across the workforce," said Nautilus.

Director of organising Martyn Gray said: "The result of this ballot is a clear indication of the strength of frustration amongst our members at the RFA who feel overworked, underpaid and undervalued.

"The RFA are vital to the UK's naval capabilities. In a time of significant geo-political instability, we do not wish to see disruption to the RFA's operations.

"We hope this ballot result will focus minds and we look forward to engaging further with the RFA and the Ministry of Defence as a matter of urgency to forge a path forward that reflects the deeply held concerns of our members and avoids industrial action."

The RFA provides support around the world for Royal on Navy deployments - from combat and counter-piracy campaigns to disaster relief.

Recently, two Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships arrived in India, making it the first time their whereabouts had been known since they took part in a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza in January.

In October, both RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay were sent to the eastern Mediterranean to support humanitarian efforts in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Little information had been known about their whereabouts or what they had been doing, but in January RFA Lyme Bay delivered 80 tonnes of aid for Gaza into Port Said in Egypt.