Striking workers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) Inshore Lifeboat Centre will be demonstrating against job closures at the charity's head office in Poole today (25 August).

When: 11:30 to 13:30

Where: RNLI headquarters, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ

The Unite members, who are based in the Isle of Wight, are taking the fight to Poole after 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.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The RNLI is choosing profits over retaining its skilled workforce. Not only is it refusing to negotiate with the union, it is now withholding key information that can inform these discussions.

“Its behaviour has been nothing short of disgraceful. Our members deserve to have the full facts and have no choice but to take the fight to the RNLI’s headquarters. They have Unite’s complete support.”

Meanwhile, forensic accountancy recently undertaken by Unite 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 discloses this information to the union.

Inshore Lifeboat Centre workers are on strike today (25 August) and also took two days of industrial action earlier this month. They do a highly skilled role supplying and maintaining lifeboats for over half of the 238 stations run by the charity across the UK.

ENDS

Notes to editors

For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite press officer Natasha Wynarczyk on 07970081524

Email: natasha.wynarczyk@unitetheunion.org