FLEET FAMILIES
Parental controls
SAILORS working in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) face harsh and restrictive maternity policies that are forcing them out of the service at a time of recruitment crisis.
The Eye has spoken with women seafarers who said they had to leave the RFA to have a child or take extended unpaid leave, while others terminated pregnancies to stay on at work. Why are they faced with these stark choices?
The government’s Maritime 2050 workforce strategy wants 30 percent of UK seafarers to be women. A 2023 freedom of information request showed that women made up just 10 percent of the RFA workforce. Seafarer representatives believe the ambitious target has no chance of being met unless the system is overhauled to help working parents.