Dame Nia Griffith MP has launched a fierce campaign against UK Government proposals to strip volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) of their hourly call-out pay, warning that the decision poses a serious risk to Carmarthenshire’s long coastline and treacherous estuaries.
The local Member of Parliament has formally demanded an urgent review of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) plan, which will eliminate the modest £11 hourly remuneration currently paid to the 3,500 volunteers across the UK starting this September. From then on, officers will only be allowed to claim back basic expenses.
A Serious Local Matter
In an official letter addressed to Keir Mather MP, the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation, Dame Nia Griffith highlighted the acute dangers facing the local Carmarthenshire coastline.
She emphasised that the region’s expansive shores and unpredictable estuaries experience significant sea and shore activity from both residents and holidaymakers. Losing these highly trained personnel or damaging morale could have devastating consequences for coastal safety.
“The £11 per hour remuneration that Coastguard Rescue Officers can currently claim when responding to incidents is a very modest amount, but at least it is an acknowledgement of the disruption to their own employment and personal lives, when they are called out at all times of the day and night, in all sorts of weather,” Griffith wrote in the correspondence.
Elite Skills Disregarded
The MP pointed out that the cuts completely undervalue the extreme dedication and professional-grade training required of coastguard volunteers. Local officers maintain life-saving skills to exceptional benchmarks, including:
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Search skills trained up to Police POLSA standards.
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Medical capabilities conforming to critical care standards.
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Specialist rescues, including complex mud, water, cliff rope rescues, and operations alongside rescue helicopters.
Griffith branded the sudden decision to withdraw the funding a “real kick in the teeth” for dedicated officers who have given years of selfless service.
Legal Technicality Destroys Pay Structure
The controversial shift follows a Court of Appeal judgment (Maritime and Coastguard Agency v Martin Groom), which ruled that because volunteer officers received an hourly rate, they legally held the status of “workers” and were therefore entitled to broader employment rights, such as paid holiday and the National Minimum Wage.
Rather than adopting a framework that properly compensates these lifesavers under the law, the MCA recommended completely abolishing hourly remuneration to keep them classified strictly as volunteers, a recommendation accepted by the Department for Transport. Griffith insisted that “there must be other ways of dealing with this” so that sacrifices are still rewarded.
Taking the Fight to Westminster
Refusing to let the matter rest, Dame Nia Griffith has confirmed she is taking immediate legislative action:
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Early Day Motion: She has signed a cross-party Early Day Motion (EDM 333) in the House of Commons condemning the plans.
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Direct Ministerial Confrontation: Having already written to the Department for Transport minister to urge a total review, she will confront the Minister directly on the floor of the House of Commons tomorrow to demand answers for Carmarthenshire’s coastguards.
Local residents and maritime groups are being urged to back the campaign to protect the vital emergency services safeguarding our shores.
