Coastguards take strike action over pay offers
COASTGUARD crews staged strike action for the first time in their history yesterday as the long-running dispute over pay settlements continued.
The one-day stoppage hit emergency and 999 distress calls for services which cover hundreds of miles of coastline, including The Wash and North Norfolk.
The move came after members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) voted in favour of strike action in response to pay levels which fall well below those paid to other emergency services.
Staff are also furious at the fact watch assistants, who participate in 999 calls, only earn the national minimum wage.
Watch manager Peter Wheeler, based at the coastguard station in Yarmouth, told the Lynn News in December that staff were extremely reluctant to proceed with the strike, but conceded they had no option given the derisory pay offer on the table.
He said: “We will not be looking at a long strike, it may be just for 24 hours or something like that, but even that is something we are loathe to do because if we are not here people’s lives are at risk.
“We are underpaid, we get nowhere near the wages of the police and fire service. We feel we do good work. We have local people working here who are very angry about this.
“We really do not want to do the strike, but our people feel they have not got much option.”
Despite the strike Hunstanton’s lifeboat centre remained on call yesterday and operations manager Robin Rafferty told the Lynn News it was business as usual.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This move to strike action illustrates the depth of anger among staff who provide a vital emergency service.
“This is not a step which our coastguard members have taken lightly. The Government’s policy of holding down public sector pay increases below the level of inflation is creating disputes across the civil and public services.
“The Government cannot continue to ignore the men and women who ensure the safety of shipping in British waters and who save lives through their professionalism in co-ordinating search and rescue operations.
“Coastguards are the forgotten emergency service and the Government needs to act quickly in paying them a fair wage that is comparable to other emergency services.”
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
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