Hundreds of Liverpool dockworkers to strike again

Nearly 600 dockworkers at the Port of Liverpool will strike for a second round from over salaries from 11-17 October.

PHOTO: View of Liverpool docks on the river Mersey in Liverpool, UK. Getty Images

The first round of strike started on 19 September and is set to end on 2 October.

It followed failed negotiations over pay hikes between employees and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. The workers are unhappy with the 8.3% pay hike offered by the company, saying the offer is significantly below the current inflation rate.

Besides dockworkers, the port’s dock masters, shift managers and vessel traffic services officers are also preparing for the strike action, said Unite union, which represents dockworkers in the company.

The announcement has raised concerns over possible disruptions to vessel movements and cargo and container handling in the port.

“If even more staff walk out over the company’s insufficient pay offer, the entire port will literally become inoperable,” Unite national coordinator for free ports Steven Gerrard said.

By Shilpa Sharma

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