Pay victory at Lloyd's Register as union wins recognition in two-year campaign

After nearly two years of campaigning, employees at Lloyd's Register in the Netherlands have won a well-deserved pay rise and union recognition. Nautilus executive officer Richard Moti tells Rob Coston how the courage and solidarity of our members finally brought the company to the table

Q: Nautilus is more known for representing officers onboard ship, whereas Lloyd’s Register is a classification society. How did we get involved with speaking to employees there and representing them?

Richard Moti (RM): That's a good question. Lloyd's Register is different from other companies where we work to establish collective bargaining agreements. However, the employees of Lloyds do work on ships in the Netherlands – they inspect, classify and give licenses for ships, so they are in very much contact with our members who work onboard the ships.

This story started almost two years ago, when workers at Lloyd's Register came to us and asked us if we could represent them. They had tried to ask their employer for a pay rise due to the high inflation in the Netherlands – in 2022 this was 14% and they only got a pay rise of 2%, so there was a huge gap which all employees felt at the grocery store and when paying their bills.

It was a hard time for them, but unfortunately, Lloyd's Register refused to give them an extra pay rise.

Q: I understand that Nautilus then approached the company, and they did not want to speak to us.

RM: Well, the first thing to say is that in the beginning we only had two members at Lloyd's Register in the Netherlands. We told them that we are, of course, willing to help you, but with only two members, we will not be able to get the pay rise you want – first we have to organise.

We sent our two members back to set up a meeting with their colleagues. They managed to gather 30 people and we discussed the matter with all of them at our office in Rotterdam. After that, a couple of dozen of employees became members and we had the basis to begin discussions with Lloyd's.

Q: How did those initial discussions with the company go?

RM: They ignored us! That's why we started our petition for a pay increase, which was signed by all employees. Then we held quite a friendly action – it was a hot summer day, so we gave out ice creams in the office and asked the general manager to come down and receive the petition. Unfortunately, he refused, so we went up with a couple of our lay reps and handed him the petition in his own office.

This didn't have the effect that we wanted though, to start the conversation. We only got an invitation for a cup of coffee, and after that they kept ignoring us, so we decided to also hand over the petition to the CEO in London.

We went there with a delegation of lay reps and executive officer to hand over the petition. Once again, they refused to come down, but we stayed on the street with our banners until they finally sent somebody from the HR department to accept it. We got some good publicity and media coverage with that action.

It was thanks to the employees, our members, that we got this agreement and pay rise – because they organised and joined the Union, and because they showed the courage to take industrial action if necessary

Q: It was a great day in London. Was that when things started to turn around?

RM: It really helped, because they knew that we were serious.

However, we still didn't get an invitation to begin negotiations. So we sent an ultimatum, telling them that in the Netherlands, when a union has a certain ratio of members the employer is required by law to speak with the union about labour conditions.

We said that we would take them to court unless they started talking to us within a month. That's when they really got scared, because they knew that a refusal would mean a lot of bad publicity. That’s when we finally got an invitation to talk about a pay uplift.

Q: What were the negotiations like?

RM: They weren't easy. The representatives of Lloyd's Register seemed to think that they had done everything correctly, that since high inflation wasn’t the fault of the company, they shouldn’t pay for it, and since they didn't increase pay due to inflation in other countries they shouldn’t do it in the Netherlands.

They held this position for a long time, but eventually they did put an offer on the table – but that offer made our members really angry, because it only applied to a few of the workers who were already on a high income. Employees in the lower skills bracket, who were hit hardest by inflation, wouldn't receive even a single extra euro.

Q: Why did they make an offer like that?

RM: We think it was a divide and conquer tactic, but it didn’t work at all. The workers were fed up with the attitude of Lloyd's Register because it took so long to start talking to us, because of their delaying tactics, and finally because of this offer that they considered an insult.

We communicated our members’ feelings to Lloyd’s Register, but they didn’t change their position for three of four months.

After that, they unilaterally ended the conversations with Nautilus, presenting a final offer that was basically the same and saying ‘take it or leave it’.

Q: That must have been very frustrating for the members, after months of negotiations. Where did you take it from there?

RM: We put the final offer to our members. It was rejected by more than 95% of those who voted. At the same time, we asked our members what they would like to do, since Lloyd's Register had unilaterally ended the conversation – would they be prepared to take industrial action? More than 95% said yes!

We told the company about this vote, and it really changed the game. Lloyd’s Register finally realized that they couldn't get away with offering a pay rise to a few colleagues. We received a much more generous offer, which was the foundation for our final agreement.

I think we did quite well, because if you look at the final offer at the end of the summer, the pay increase was only around 50,000 euros in total. In the draft agreement we have now agreed with Lloyd’s, the payment increase has gone up to €250,000 – five times higher!

All employees will get an extra €100 each month plus a €400 one-off payment. For those on lower incomes this will make a big difference. It's now an agreement that benefits all employees.

Q: Given that Lloyd’s Register didn't even want to talk to us, I think that's a really fantastic result. Have they also recognized Nautilus as the employee union?

RM: Yes, in the agreement they now recognise Nautilus International in the Netherlands as union representative for their workers. Normally we don't need to discuss this topic in the Netherlands, it’s normal to be recognized, but Lloyd’s Register stalled and delayed for over a year. It’s quite a victory that they now understand that they have to take us seriously, and that if there are matters involving the wages of our members, they have to talk with us.

It was thanks to the employees, our members, that we got this agreement and pay rise – because they organised and joined the Union, and because they showed the courage to take industrial action if necessary.

It's really a good example by how strong a union can be. If you work together, join hands and show courage, you can achieve a lot. Our members showed this at Lloyd’s Register.

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Watch the full interview on NautilusTV