24-hour working at Tilbury
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• The Port of London Authority has begun round-the-clock working at its Tilbury Docks multi-user container berths.
A new pay and productivity deal with the unions (giving each man a regular weekly wage of £55, paid monthly) extends the Devlin II principles to provide eight-hour shifts throughout the 24-hour day, seven days a week the year through, including statutory and Bank Holidays.
The new pattern of working covers berths No. 40, 41 and 43 and is similar to the three-shift system already operating at No. 39 berth, the OCL /ACT terminal.
Based on a shift rotation over a 16-week cycle there will ultimately be 112 men, divided into eight crews of 14 men each, working eight-hour shifts from 07.00 to 15.00, 15.00 to 23.00 and 23.00 to 07.00 the next day. This means a working week averaging of 4.25 shifts or 34 hours.
Three-shifts will enable work on vessels to be commenced at any hour and for work to be continuous, resulting in quicker turnround, and a smoother flow of container traffic through the berths.
London now claims that its container facilities match those of the best of Continental ports.