Nautilus International scoops Best Association award

Press release

Nautilus commended for 'outstanding achievements' in the face of extreme 'sector challenges'

Nautilus International has been recognised for services to its seafaring members and the wider industry after winning the Best Association category at the Association Excellence Awards.

The Union, which represents more than 22,000 members, was commended by judges at the event on Friday 12th October 2018 for 'great communications campaigns, commitment to professional standards and above all, securing the release of unpaid wages for seafarers'.

The award, which is given to associations that offer the most exemplary representation for members, evaluates organisations on such criteria as: value for money; overcoming challenges; strong leadership; and substantial successes.

Nautilus International's entry focused on the achievements from its Charter for Jobs campaign which has become central to the Union's work since launching in 2016. The campaign aims to achieve tangible results for members and seafarers, both nationally and globally across a range of industry issues.

The charter is an SOS to the industry representing support, opportunities and standards, setting objectives to secure the future of the sector. In the past two years, it has resulted in a House of Commons debate and a Parliamentary review described by the Shipping Minister as a 'strong case' for the industry. It has also helped to secure national minimum wage pay for foreign seafarers working on freight ferries serving the Scottish Northern Isles, who had been paid as little as £3.22 an hour. More recently, the Union secured £440,000 unpaid wages for workers onboard an abandoned superyacht in Malta.

The Union was also commended for its communications campaigns, which covered the creation of animations, videos, GIFs and postcards to maximise engagement with members, politicians and industry alike. The campaigns aimed to simplify and communicate the complex industry issues to a mass audience. With a specialism working transnationally with associations, the communication campaigns were spearheaded by Nautilus's marketing and communications agency, Acceleris.

On the award entry, the Association Excellence Awards judging panel concluded: 'Nautilus had produced an outstanding set of achievements for members in the face of some really difficult external challenges. Showing that the world of maritime professionals would be a much bleaker place if Nautilus was not fighting for its members.'

Nautilus also won silver for the recent redesign of its website. On this, the judges commented: 'Nautilus's new website allows seafarers to access information internationally, no matter if they're in Southampton, or the South China Sea. In keeping members connected to the Union, especially given a substantial number of the Union's members work at sea, the website serves as a lifeline, helping to alleviate feelings of isolation and providing valuable information for those who require assistance whilst working away from home.'

The Union's head of strategy, Debbie Cavaldoro, was presented with the award at the ceremony and commented: 'We're really proud that the industry issues and challenges that we've been working hard to overcome over the past few years have not only improved our members' working lives, but for thousands of seafarers internationally too.

'Despite this, there remains the requirement for an awful lot of campaigning and lobbying to ensure the quality of work seafarers experience offshore is equal to their onshore counterparts. As well as campaigning for today's seafarers, we're also looking ahead to the future of the industry, covering automation and crew communication concerns to ensure the Union strives to protect the nation's maritime resilience and our seafarers which we depend so much upon.'

• find out  more about the Nautilus Charter for Jobs 

ENDS

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