Meet the new Nautilus Royal Fleet Auxiliary liaison officer

Giles Rice has become the new Nautilus liaison officer at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), where he will be helping fellow members with issues at work and participating in ongoing pay negotiations. Rob Coston spoke to him about why he took on the role

Rob Coston (RC): What is your background as a seafarer and at the RFA?

Giles Rice (GR): I came to seafaring from the yacht sector. I trained as a yacht master, did some yacht deliveries as part of a sailing apprenticeship, and got to see the world.

It was enjoyable, but I wanted a bit more stability in the craft I was undertaking so I ended up doing a cadetship in 2012 and afterwards looking for a position as a newly qualified officer.
The RFA was recruiting quite heavily at the time. It seemed like it would be a very good match. I was accepted at the RNC Dartmouth in February 2016 and I've been with the RFA ever since, Starting as a junior deck officer and working my way up. I was promoted to second officer in 2022.

RC: You've now stepped into quite a different role as a Nautilus liaison officer, spending 50% of your time on Nautilus work and 50% of your time on RFA work. Why did you decide to take on the challenge?

GR: I joined the Union as a cadet because I liked the idea of an organisation that would look out for my interests and protect my certificate of competency in future.

After joining the RFA, I got interested in the fact that, as the years went by, we were only getting 1% pay rises.

Nautilus was advertising for a couple of replacement seafarer members from the RFA to join the representative body, and I decided that could be a good way for me to increase my knowledge of Union activities and support my colleagues at sea, so I sought nomination.

After I was able to join the panel of representatives, Nautilus moved fairly quickly into industrial action in 2024. That process was good to be part of, but I felt that the membership would have benefitted from having a liaison officer in post – unfortunately, our liaison officer wasn't able to perform the role at the time due to his circumstances, and Nautilus couldn't advertise for the role while in dispute.

So, when the position was open again, I thought, well, I can see myself communicating to the membership, I feel like I've got a good baseline understanding of how all the different departments onboard ship interact with each other, I can speak to different people and understand their frustrations, and I can elevate that to people inside the organisation.

RC: Is it a challenge making the voices of fellow members heard?

GR: I honestly underestimated quite how challenging the structure is, but after some practice and diary management you can easily get to see the people you need to. I have already been able to assist a couple of members that way with issues that have been frustrating them.

RC: What kind of work do you do in the role?

GR: No two days are the same. For example, I learn where to find RFA policies and what they say, and I help members understand them – they are written 'by civil servants, for civil servants' – not with seafarers in mind who like their messaging without corporate branding or political buzzwords.
I'll then do things like help members check their grievances are in accordance with the grievance policy, as there's a specific set of criteria you have to meet before a grievance will be accepted or help them with the process for sick absence or with disciplinaries.

RC: I believe you're also participating in the new round of pay negotiations?

GR: As there will be people involved who really don't understand what a seafarer is, I'll be in the room to explain to them why particular adjustments are required, and also as a means of communicating what is under consideration to the membership.

As I partake in these meetings, I'll be going to the ships to answer questions and pick up on the latest concerns from members.

It's really important for me to do ship visits like this – for example, when I recently visited Tidespring, members brought up the fact that our annual bonus had a shorter qualifying period than previously. After hearing about this, we were able to get the qualifying number of days reduced and many people benefitted, as there were about 90 people who had been ineligible due to ill-health or absence, and we got that down into the mid-50s.

That was thanks to members – I'm just one person, but the rest of the members can bring up things that I've had no visibility of. I really value that as I'm only as good as the as the information that's coming into me.

RC: How can people get in touch with you if they've noticed something, or if they'd like your help?

GR: Members can get in touch with me at any time, and as early as possible! I'd rather help someone to resolve something quickly before it becomes a major issue.

I'll help out with anything I can, even if it's just for reassurance – like speaking to someone about an error that they've made on a form or explaining the realistic outcomes. It's difficult sometimes for members to work out how they'll be treated, so it's helpful for them to have someone like myself who understands RFA processes and things like what the thresholds are for infractions.
I can help get things in front of the right people for a speedy resolution, so members can continue with their day to day.