PCS: Coastguards on strike over pay

Thursday, 6 March 2008 12:00 AM

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."

ENDS

Notes to editors

* For further information, interviews and comment please contact Alex Flynn PCS national press officer on 0207 801 2820 or 07833 978216.

* PCS, the Public and Commercial Services Union is the union representing civil and public servants in central government. It has more than 315,000 members in over 200 departments and agencies. It also represents workers in parts of government transferred to the private sector. PCS is the UK's sixth largest union and is affiliated to the TUC. The general secretary is Mark Serwotka and the president Janice Godrich.

* PCS represents 700 people working for the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Alex Flynn
National Press Officer
Public and Commercial Services Union
160 Falcon Rd
London SW11 2LN

Direct line: 020 7801 2747
Mobile: 07833 978 216
Fax: 020 7924 1847

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