But a trade union representing defense workers in the U.K. is now arguing that government efforts to slash costs by reducing staffing at His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, home of HMS Dragon, are to blame.
That position was disputed by the private contractor leading on the site as well as the MOD, which said that its service requests have been fulfilled by the contractor, Serco, and that work is proceeding “at pace” to get HMS Dragon ready to deploy.
“All requests that have been made to Serco to support the preparation of the ship have been fulfilled,” an MoD spokesman told POLITICO.
9-5 with overtime
In May last year, the MoD awarded a new deal to private firm Serco for in-port services at Portsmouth. This reduced capacity, ending around-the-clock staffing in favor of the site shifting to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday hours.
Prospect union, which represents tug boat workers and engineers at the ship’s base in Portsmouth, argued that the reduction in hours meant it had taken longer to mobilize the necessary workforce and prepare the HMS Dragon for deployment.
Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: “Our members are stepping up to help, but such a vital service shouldn’t be dependent on good will from staff. Out-of-hours support should be locked into the contract.