Glimpsing our maritime future: the 2024 Nautilus UK Branch Conference

The latest Nautilus UK branch member meeting was held entirely online – but that wasn't the only thing that was digital about the event. Sarah Robinson reports

Nautilus members gathered virtually on 20 November 2024 for their biennial UK conference – which is both a legally-required meeting for members to scrutinise and vote on Union business and an opportunity for professional development.

Led by UK National Committee chair Iain MacKenzie and general secretary Mark Dickinson, the event had the theme of artificial intelligence (AI) in maritime, and guest speakers had been invited to share their expertise on the subject

UK Branch Conference Report presentations

Even the 'formal business' element of the meeting had an AI flavour. At each UK Branch Conference, the achievements of the Union over the previous two years are presented to members, who vote on whether to accept the official conference report. To bring the report to life, leaders of various departments usually give presentations on their own work, but this year, there was a twist.

The voices members heard as the presentations were given were familiar, but not quite the same as usual. That's because they were generated by AI, based on previous recordings of the speakers.

'It's been quite an eye-opening experience to generate these presentations, and it's shown us the possibilities and the limitations of the AI technology we have today,' said Nautilus director of communications, campaigns and digital Helen Kelly.

'All our colleagues have different accents, but the tech tried to make them all sound more "London", and members at the meeting pointed out that one speaker really didn't sound like himself! But the AI got close enough on most of them that people who knew the speaker would recognise their voice.'

Questions from members

Following each AI-voiced presentation, members asked questions about the topics covered, and the answers were given live by the real leaders of each Nautilus departmental cluster. A selection of the questions and answers are given below.

One member noted the impressive achievements of the Nautilus Industrial team in winning pay increases for members over the past two years, and asked how the Union planned to build on this.

Nautilus director of organising Martyn Gray replied that members had gained confidence from successful negotiations at the likes of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and he hoped that others would follow their example in speaking up for themselves. There is also now more support for workers' rights in the new UK government.

Another member asked whether the Nautilus Sea Service Record – a digital platform for sea time verification approved by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency – would be extended beyond Nautilus members in the superyacht sector.

Head of membership and recruitment Derek Byrne said that this was indeed Nautilus's intention, but further approval from the authorities would be needed for the extension.

The questions were raised of how the new cadet syllabus mentioned in the Professional and Technical presentation would be implemented, and where the new syllabus could be viewed.

Head of professional and technical David Appleton explained that existing cadets would see no change in their syllabus, as the new one would be introduced with the new cohort starting in 2025. He noted that the new UK syllabus still met all STCW requirements, but there was a change of emphasis on the weight given to certain subjects, based on changes in the way seafarers work today. He added that the syllabus can be viewed in the consultations section of the government website www.gov.uk/mca.

After the Legal presentation, a member noted how well the Union had done in retrieving unpaid wages, but wondered how wage theft could be prevented in the first place.

Director of legal services Charles Boyle said work was ongoing to address this internationally, for example through amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention.

The Communications, Campaigns and Digital presentation mentioned a campaign success with the introduction of the Seafarers Wages Act. A member asked afterwards how Nautilus was planning to monitor the implementation of the Act and make sure it wasn't watered down.

Director of communications, campaigns and digital Helen Kelly said that Nautilus was still in high-level discussions with the UK government and would soon be adding extra resources to the communications team to boost the Union's lobbying work.

After the Operations presentation, a member asked to hear more about the new credit union for members.

Deputy general secretary Olu Tunde said that it had been quite a few years since the idea of a credit union was first mooted, and he was very pleased to deliver this now thanks to a partnership with CommSave. Members will soon be able to use the credit union's ethical savings and loans via a link from the My Nautilus area of the Union's website.

The governance and representation presentation looked at how Nautilus boosted members' voices through affiliation with organisations like the TUC union federation. A member asked to hear an example of success achieved this way.

Head of governance Garry Elliott replied that the Union's fight against 'fire and rehire' had gained momentum and influence when other affiliate unions of the TUC had recognised the same problem in their own sectors and had joined Nautilus to put pressure on the UK government.

After the Welfare presentation, a member asked for more information on recent improvements to the Mariners' Park Care Home.

Director of welfare and care Andrew Jones outlined a number of significant changes, including new managers, new digital data recording and compliance systems and better staff inductions and training. Together with improvements in pay and conditions, these changes have improved staff retention and eliminated the need for agency workers.

Member votes

The members attending the event were clearly satisfied with the presentations, as they voted unanimously to accept the 2024 UK Branch Conference Report.

The vote also went in favour of two motions proposed and seconded by members: one on the subject of artificial intelligence in the workplace and the other relating to the ongoing industrial dispute at the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

These motions have now become resolutions committing the UK National Committee to certain actions in the two years until the next UK Branch Conference.

• Read more about the motions to the conference