1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184 
Dockers opt for strike ballot
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Chaos looms at ports as crane drivers and dockers threaten to strike after rejecting a 2.9% pay offer. Jennifer Ball reports.
CONTAINER HAULIERS are facing massive disruption as dockers at 23 ports threaten the first national dock strike for 14 years. The threat of a walkout comes after crane drivers and dockers rejected a 2.9% pay deal from Associated British Ports (ABP) by a vote of three to one. ABP runs ports including Southampton, Plymouth, Grimsby, Immingham and Tilbury.
Graham Stevenson, the Transport & General Workers Union (T&G) national transport organiser, describes ABP's response to the union's claim for a minimum £7.50/hr wage for all employees and £10/hr for drivers as "wholly inadequate". He adds: "Our members are serious about fighting back this year to win realistic and meaningful improvements to wages and conditions.
"We are looking to raise not just the standard of living for our members but to bring employ ment conditions into the 21st century. If it takes a full national strike ballot so be it."
Shaun Allen, MD at W Carter (Haulage), says a strike would have a disastrous effect on container hauliers: "Southampton is already a difficult port to operate from due to the fast-track booking system (VBS) without further delays. This will have an immediate financial impact on us."
In a statement ABP says it has not received any information from the T&G about a strike ballot. It claims that under the national agreement fewer than 300 employees out of a total of over 3,000 are subject to collective bargaining.