Bridlington and the Wolds MP, Charlie Dewhirst, has voiced his fears about the ‘serious consequences’ of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) decision to make coastguards volunteers rather than paid workers.

The MCA is set to make the changes later in the year.

The scheme to change the status of coastguards follows a court of appeal ruling, which confirmed that people who had been serving as coastguard rescue officers (CROs) have been doing so as workers, rather than volunteers.

Subsequently, the MCA decided to stop the payments from September, in order to start legally classing CROs as volunteers.

placeholder image — Bridlington MP Charlie Dewhirst (inset); the GMB Union logo (top) and the HM Coastguard logo.

Mr Dewhirst said he had a chat with a local coastguard officer to hear first-hand about the ‘challenges facing the service’.

Following the meeting he said that will be urging the Government to maintain the existing system until they find a positive way forward.

The MP said: “This year’s recent court ruling has created serious consequences for an institution with over 200 years of proud history.

“As a result, we now face the very real prospect of huge numbers of dedicated Coastguard workforce walking away later this year because the Government has failed to support them and will have a direct and serious knock on effect on teams operating out of Bridlington.

“Coastguard Rescue Officers do an incredible job in dangerous and challenging conditions. From the Northumberland coast down to Felixstowe in Suffolk, a stretch of over 250 miles, MRCC Humber in Bridlington coordinates vital search and rescue operations that protect lives along our East Yorkshire coastline every single day.

“These volunteers put themselves in harms way to save others and support our coastal communities. But if we lose them, who fills the gap? I’ve recently met with a local Coastguard officer to hear first-hand about the serious challenges they’re facing and will be urging the Government to maintain the existing system until they are confident that they have found a positive way forward.”

Meanwhile, the service would be seriously affected if ‘cruel’ pay cuts go ahead, according to a trade union.

More than half of the coastguards in Yorkshire and Humberside would be forced to reduce their hours or stop volunteering altogether over plans to strip coastguard officers of their hourly pay, the GMB Union has said.

The GMB Union, citing the MCA’s “own survey data”, said more than half of coastguards in the region would be forced to reduce their hours or stop volunteering altogether if the “cruel pay cuts are carried out”.

Almost 100 coastguards from Yorkshire and Humberside responded to a survey carried out by the MCA, the results of which have been leaked to GMB, the union said.

It said the survey demonstrated that 52 per cent would be forced to reduce their hours or be unable to continue if the cuts went ahead.

Nicola Savage, GMB National Officer, said: “These cruel cuts are going to rip the heart out of a life-saving emergency service millions of people rely on.

“Coastguards across the UK risk their own lives to keep us safe – the very least they should expect is to be paid for their time and expenses.

“If the MCA pushes ahead with these unprecedented cuts, the Coastguard that has protected us for more than 200 years could cease to exist as we know it.”

The MCA has been contacted for a comment.