WIREDGOV

It is anticipated that the French military will take over responsibility for shipping in English Channel today (6 March), as up to 700 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) take part in their first ever one-day strike in a dispute over pay.

The one-day stoppage hitting emergency 999 distress calls and operations in the UK’s 19 rescue co-ordination centres is in response to pay levels that fall way behind those paid to other emergency services and the government’s policy of below inflation cost of living increases. The refusal to implement the findings of studies saying that their pay should be the same as other emergency services has left staff feel betrayed and let down.

Staff are also furious over pay levels in the MCA where coastguard watch assistants, who actively participate in search planning and other duties in response to 999 calls, only earn the national minimum wage. With starting salaries of £12,097, staff have also been expected to stomach a pay cut in real terms with pay rises averaging just 2.5% for many and the most experienced staff receiving pay increases of less than 1%.

The strike comes as pay problems across the civil service come to a head following the government’s policy to drive down wages by capping pay increases below inflation. Friday last week saw a strongly supported strike over pay inequality and below inflation pay in the Department for Transport (DfT) and five of its agencies, with approximately 5,000 driving tests cancelled. Elsewhere in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), there could be further strike action in their dispute over a pay offer that sees 40% of staff receive 0% this year.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said:

"Today’s strike, the first in the Coastguard Agency’s history, is not a step our members have taken lightly. They feel let down and betrayed by a refusal to pay them the same as other emergency services and by below inflation pay rises which are cutting their pay in real terms. Coastguards provide a vital emergency service and ensure the safety of shipping in British waters. It is a scandal that pay rates are so low and that watch assistants who help save lives should get a special pay rise to bring them up to the level of the national minimum wage.

"The government's policy of holding down public sector pay increases below the level of inflation is creating disputes across the civil and public services. The government needs to recognise the professionalism and dedication of our coastguards, by paying them a fair wage that is comparable to other emergency services."