Quay assistants will decide by Monday whether or not to walk out over new contractsDockers at Portsmouth International Port, a key trade route between the UK and continental Europe, are threatening to go on strike over working conditions.
Seven of the port’s quay assistants - staff responsible for tying up and releasing cross-channel ferries – say their employer, Portsmouth City Council, wants to dismiss them and re-hire them on inferior contracts.
Workers say the new contract will demand that quay assistants guarantee to service vessels beyond their contractual finishing time of midnight.
The trade union Unite, which represents the workers concerned, has expressed a range of concerns with the new working conditions and has highlighted health and safety issues arising from asking staff to work shifts of over 13 hours. Unite also described the pay as ‘paltry’.
Unite regional officer, Ian Woodland, said: “Currently, just under half the staff are contractually obliged to service late sailings and the rest can leave at midnight. This has left the new staff increasingly frustrated that they have been employed to undermine the terms and conditions of existing staff and also that they are servicing vessels under the new overtime rates but, in a majority of cases, are not being paid for doing so.
“Our members have now indicated that they wish to oppose this race to the bottom and will fight to put an end to this two-tier workforce.”
Unite says it approached port management last May to find a solution to the problem and get all staff working under the same conditions and that negotiations have been underway since last Summer but no agreement has been reached.
Seven of the port’s quay assistants - staff responsible for tying up and releasing cross-channel ferries – say their employer, Portsmouth City Council, wants to dismiss them and re-hire them on inferior contracts.
Workers say the new contract will demand that quay assistants guarantee to service vessels beyond their contractual finishing time of midnight.
The trade union Unite, which represents the workers concerned, has expressed a range of concerns with the new working conditions and has highlighted health and safety issues arising from asking staff to work shifts of over 13 hours. Unite also described the pay as ‘paltry’.
Unite regional officer, Ian Woodland, said: “Currently, just under half the staff are contractually obliged to service late sailings and the rest can leave at midnight. This has left the new staff increasingly frustrated that they have been employed to undermine the terms and conditions of existing staff and also that they are servicing vessels under the new overtime rates but, in a majority of cases, are not being paid for doing so.
“Our members have now indicated that they wish to oppose this race to the bottom and will fight to put an end to this two-tier workforce.”
Unite says it approached port management last May to find a solution to the problem and get all staff working under the same conditions and that negotiations have been underway since last Summer but no agreement has been reached.
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