I’m in the union

Ferrygirl: Lynda Shaw is one of 18 women deckhands on the Sydney ferries, an MUA women's delegate and now trainer.

The ageing harbour fleet has been accident prone and in the news all too often of late, with a skills shortage, mechanical failure and too few of the beloved vessels causing delays, breakdowns, accidents and angst.

Lynda hopes training up more crew will help: "Ferries are popular," she said. "People can't get enough of them. We've trained up about 50 new deckhands in the past year, some from cashiers, some brought in. Now we need more ferries and more mechanics to service them. We're about eight vessels short."

When Lynda first started men and women were segregated, with deck work left mainly to the blokes.

"It was a bit rough to start, but these days we are more accepted," she said. "The work is not that heavy if you are fit and healthy enough. And that goes for men as well."

Gangways weigh up to 25 kilos and Lynda says lifting them 100 times a day keeps you fit.

Lynda came on deck nine years back from working as a cashier and general purpose hand on the Rivercats. She has since completed her tickets for Master 5 (which allows her to captain a small vessel up to 30 metres) and Marine Engine Driver 3, but now spends half her time training deckhands.

"The training depends on what they come with," she said. "But it's all on the job. I've been assigned to one person for two weeks, training him on the old first fleeters, rivercats and supercats."

Deckhands not only do deck work like the gangways and tying up, but also cleaning and security checks. They also have to know how to steer the vessel while the captain goes to the engine room, do an emergency stop and help with navigation.

Lynda will represent MUA women at the ITF Congress in Durban in August.