U.K. coastguards to strike again

The United Kingdom's Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) is facing more strike action on Friday when up to 700 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will stage a 24-hour walkout over a long-running pay dispute.

The April 11 stoppage starting at 7 a.m. will be followed by a further 24-hour strike beginning at 7 p.m. on April 23, which will coincide with a one-day strike by other public sector workers including teachers. 

The planned industrial action follows the first ever strike by the U.K. coastguards on March 6, which led to the closure of nearly half of the United Kingdom's 19 rescue coordination centers.

It is deeply disappointing that management and the government have refused to talk seriously about resolving the disparities in pay with other emergency service workers, said Mark Serwotka, the PCS general secretary. The continued refusal by the government and the agency to value the work of its forgotten emergency service has provoked avoidable strike action and puts lives at risk. The government needs to reassess in policy of capping pay to avoid unnecessary industrial action and start valuing its own workforce with fair and just pay.

Source: American Shipper