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Displaying items by tag: Cuts: Sick Pay

On the Irish Sea ferry company Stena Line has told staff they won't be paid their normal sick pay during the Covid-19 pandemic, a union has said.

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMT) said the ferry giant has removed its normal sick pay rules - which entitles workers to full pay when they are off - leaving them only entitled to the statutory minimum of £94.25 per week.

The RMT attacked the move and one worker said it risked staff going to work even if they are feeling ill - potentially increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The move impacts staff at ports like Holyhead and Liverpool in the UK, Dublin in Ireland and crew on vessels.

North Wales Live reported that a source close to the company said the move was needed to protect the firm's future during the coronavirus crisis.

For more on this ferry development from WalesOnLine click here

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland and internationally for many years, with his work appearing in leading sailing publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a regular sailing columnist for four decades with national newspapers in Dublin, and has had several sailing books published in Ireland, the UK, and the US. An active sailor, he has owned a number of boats ranging from a Mirror dinghy to a Contessa 35 cruiser-racer, and has been directly involved in building and campaigning two offshore racers. His cruising experience ranges from Iceland to Spain as well as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and he has raced three times in both the Fastnet and Round Ireland Races, in addition to sailing on two round Ireland records. A member for ten years of the Council of the Irish Yachting Association (now the Irish Sailing Association), he has been writing for, and at times editing, Ireland's national sailing magazine since its earliest version more than forty years ago