Pay

[Des Taff Jenkins]

In 55 an AB got 32pounds a month, and all found, that's if one could find it.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#11. In 1957 I got 37 pounds 2/6d a month as 3 mate with a 2 mates cert, and that was on company contract so would have been less on BOT. The reason for contract was that you got 12 weeks on certificate leave. I was with Runcimans for 11 years and each time was off for this leave they asked me to go on the dole and they would make the money up to salary level.I told them I signed a contract to be paid 12=weeks and they could collect the dole instead of me. JS

[j.sabourn]

#11 It was under that long stand down the engine room Des......

[happy daze john in oz]

As officers steward we were on GBP42 a month with 4 hours a day OT when at sea.
Room by the sea, all found and an early morning call.
What more could you ask for.

[j.sabourn]

Now the working day is /was 12 hours a day and no overtime. The only overtime I ever got at sea believe it or not was when an apprentice and think it was 9d. An hour after God knows how many hours have forgotten, and a 7 day working week. If Ivan sees this will say we were spoilt in Runcimans, we also got 10/- a year for buying washing /dhoby soap. As mate I did receive 27 pounds 2/6d a month in lieu of overtime , that barely covered making out the overtime sheets for others. I think stewards on ships today apart from passenger ships are very rare . On a seismic ship with 60 on board we carried one and two cooks . He only looked after about 5 company reps. JS

[Tony Taylor]

Now the working day is /was 12 hours a day and no overtime. The only overtime I ever got at sea believe it or not was when an apprentice and think it was 9d. An hour after God knows how many hours have forgotten, and a 7 day working week. If Ivan sees this will say we were spoilt in Runcimans, we also got 10/- a year for buying washing /dhoby soap. As mate I did receive 27 pounds 2/6d a month in lieu of overtime , that barely covered making out the overtime sheets for others. I think stewards on ships today apart from passenger ships are very rare . On a seismic ship with 60 on board we carried one and two cooks . He only looked after about 5 company reps. JS

We were stitched up in 73 when there was an overwhelming vote in favour of balloting for strike action by officers, mainly down to excess hours being worked. Shell did a deal with the union where by we would be recompensed for any hours worked over ten a day (so that put us on a seventy hour basic week). For hours over and above ten we would receive an additional £120 / year plus one day extra leave per month. My previous ship I worked never less than 90 hours per week for first 5 months and not less than 70 for the last 4 months.

[Graham Shaw]

Similarly to previous post(s)- As 3rd and then 2nd Mate I rarely worked less than 84 hours per week, either at sea or in port,;at sea it was 8 hours watch plus 4 hours lifesaving/firefighting/safety gear/ and safety meetings as 3rd Mate,or Chart Correction and Dispensary Duty as 2nd Mate.In port it was 6 on,6 off making 12 hours per day in each case. The C/O in port was always on call and would fill in on deck watch should 2/0 need to do chartwork,course laying and passage planning for the upcoming voyage , or if dispensary work was required,even if only that meant sending any crew off to the doctor's ashore or in the case of the 3/0 lifeboat lowering and LSA surveys etc.was required.
Of course ,as we know that still didn't take into account the extra unpaid hours for standby, mooring stations etc.
Shore leave...what's that?.The only time we got that was on the rare occasions if there was no night cargo ops and the C/O would volunteer to keep ship and give the 2/0 and 3/0 a rare night ashore,but of course if it was a good port,or the C/0 was a 'good-time '-loving person then forget it-he was definitely going ashore!

And how I used to envy the Sparky's job in port !

Friends and family at home seemed never to believe you when you told them your hours worked.They might have envied your good pay,but we had to remind them,there was no Saturday or Sunday off or Bank Holidays at sea. Remember too we did that for six or eight months at a time.The show must go on.I think we all know of someone who was incredulous when you told them that no,as they sometimes thought,that ships don't 'park up' for the night at sea!

But by and large,I was happy with my pay,and my paid leave after every 8 months aboard was 4 months off. My redundancy too,after 16 years with my company was good -1 month for every year-it enabled me to secure a good deposit for my first house and got me on the ladder. Mind you,this was 1990,and at the very end of the British Merchant Navy,and living and working through that last decade or so when companies were finishing up and making widespread redundancies was not such a happy period.Personnel were watching each other and more strained knowing perhaps the slightest mistake or stepping out of line might get back to Head Office and that would be the sack,the end,with no redundancy. Then,before the actual end,we had to train up the 3rd world crews who would be taking our jobs and our ships from us......
I was sad -for a while -after,and like a fish out of water,but after a year or so a different career beckoned.Life goes on,doesn't it?,but isn't it good that we seafarers proudly reminisce ,keep up to date and talk about our lives at sea,and the reason we turn time and time again to familiar sites like this....Avatar.gifbirds.gif

[Robert George Young]

Thank you for all these great replies

[j.sabourn]

#16 Tony I remember when the 10 hour day appeared ,it was supposed to be for sanitary duties only , that got lost in the small print, and it was only a short hop then to 12hours. All the foreign ships I was on 67- 72 there was no such thing as payment for overtime. On a Liberian ship although the West Indians were on British Articles and the mates and engineers on Liberian, no paid overtime, the same with Cape Verde crew , Chinese , Indian and Philippine. Been with them all. Good for me as mate as were no arguments and unless there was an emergency I used to stick with the old 8 hours unbeknown to the owners who weren’t interested in any case as long as the ship got from A to B without incident. JS

#17.. Graham when 3 mate did you do the the corrections to the light lists as well in your spare time, just to keep your hand in for your future corrections to world coverage charts , when got promoted to 2 mate. All the mates if only had to do their bridge jobs , everyone would want them, there is always such a fuss made about watchkeeping , and that is the easy part of the job. One should be able to do that standing on your head. Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

A 14 hour day was not uncommon on UCL at times, those Yarpies sure could eat.

But today on cruise ships speaking with some crew a day of 12 hours or more is common.

It appears there is with some companies an enterprise agreement regarding wages, while some pay overtime after a certain number of hours per month.
Each company does it's own thing, there is no one size fits all for wages on them.