RNLI “letting us sink.”

The noise of whistles and supportive car horns sounded outside the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Headquarters in Poole yesterday (25 Aug) as striking boat builders and fitters from the Isle of Wight’s RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre traveled to Dorset to take their message to the charities bosses who have abandoned them.

The Unite members, who are based in the Isle of Wight, took their fight to the top as RNLI management is still refusing to come to the negotiating table despite industrial action. 

Around 70 jobs are at risk after the RNLI announced it would close the East Cowes centre next year and move production of its inshore lifeboats to Poole, Dorset, at the end of 2027.

RNLI management are refusing to negotiate better redundancy terms for affected workers. It has instead offered them voluntary redundancy or a relocation package to move to Poole, which isn’t feasible for most staff on the Isle of Wight due to family commitments and Poole having a high cost of living.

Standing with colleagues and holding a placard saying “RNLI leaving the I.O.W workforce stranded” was Belinda Millichant. Binny, as she is known to friends at the boat yard, has worked as a technician at the site in East Cowes building the inflation tubes that are such a distinct feature of Lifeboats.

Binny said, “If the yard closes there will be no similar jobs on the island using the skillset I’ve developed over years, and I’m approaching retirement, so it’s not realistic for me to retrain and start again.”

Binny doesn’t just work on the Island, and she has also covered repairs across the south coast, as well as raising funds for the charity in her spare time.

“We feel like we are really a family business where everyone knows each other, and the boats we build are the best. But we are the “little people” and the RNLI is letting us sink.”

Binny feels that the vital job she does will “probably be outsourced” and the “tubes made abroad”. 

Outsourcing is an issue that many on the protest in Poole mention. 

One worker who didn’t want to be named is convinced that even if they could afford to relocate to Dorset, they might be in the same position in a few years time if the RNLI decides to cut jobs in other sites.

Unite Regional Coordinating Officer Jamie Major agreed that there are a lot of concerns over outsourcing in the future amongst members, but the current protest is focused on getting the dedicated workforce on the Isle of Wight a fair package, and raising the issue of lost skills and the impact on the local economy.

Jamie said, “We’ve estimated that 30% of the Isle of Wights marine sector could be lost if the yard closes. A closure would impact all through the supply chain and have a massive economic impact on an area with few opportunities for highly skilled workers.”

“We are also very concerned about the poor redundancy package being offered to people that have dedicated their working lives to supporting the RNLI and the work it does. 

“We are calling on the employer to get back around the table and negotiate a proper package that recognises the skilled job they do, and gives them a decent chance to find a job where they can use the skills and training they have developed over years in the marine industry.”

Unite has undertaken forensic accountancy recently which showed the RNLI generated a five-year high in income last year, with its accounts showing an income of £286.7m in the year ending December 2025. Meanwhile, the charity recorded £149.8m in free reserves during this time. 

Keeping the Inshore Lifeboat Centre operational would cost just £5m.

The RNLI has refused to share how much the East Cowes site’s closure would save compared with the costs of making so many staff redundant. Unite has now gone to the Central Arbitration Committee requesting that the RNLI disclose this information to the union.

The RNLI workers have strong support across the Isle of Wight, with East Cowes’s ward councillor Karl Love commenting in June in the local paper that “It is incredibly disrespectful and hurtful that the RNLI executives do not go above and beyond to support their Island workforce given the 200 years of loyal service and the millions of pounds our Island community has raised for them.”

He added that the action of RNLI executives would damage the organisation’s “high reputation” and he accused them of abandoning the Island.

While the group of Inshore Lifeboat Centre workers were outside the RNLI Headquarters, colleagues were also at one strike in East Cowes, this action follows on from two days of industrial action earlier this month. 

By Keith Hatch