WIREDGOV

The government and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are putting lives at risk by their continued refusal to negotiate meaningfully in a dispute over pay the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) warned today (11 April).

The warning comes as over 700 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), working for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), today take part in a second 24 hour stoppage prompted by 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 strike starts at 7am today and runs until 8am tomorrow (12 April).

The union advised the public to avoid taking to the sea for non-essential activities. The first ever strike by Coastguards on 6 March drew strong support hitting emergency and 999 distress calls and led to the closure of nearly half of the UK's 19 rescue co-ordination centres. The remainder operated on a severely reduced service and were staffed by a handful of managers.

The refusal to implement the findings of studies saying that Coastguard's 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 latest strike comes against a backdrop of worsening industrial relations across the civil service due to the government's policy to cap the pay of some of the lowest paid in the public sector. Strike action over pay has so far hit the NHS Pensions Division, the Land Registry, the Department for Transport, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA), Highways Agency, Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and Vehicle Certification Agency. There has also been two strongly supported two day stoppages in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which hit Jobcentres, the Pension Service and Child Support Agency.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "Strike action is a last resort and could have been avoided if the government and the MCA hadn't continued with their refusal to meaningfully negotiate a satisfactory outcome. Instead they appear content to pay wages just above the minimum wage, reward long serving staff with a real terms pay cut and to preside over pay levels that lag significantly behind other emergency services. The government have got to wake up to the impact that its below inflation pay cap is having on the morale and living standards of people who save lives and the tide of unrest that is emerging across the public sector. We anticipate the support for the today's stoppage to be as strong as the last one so would advise the public to avoid taking to the sea for non-essential activities."