SIMIC

The latest industrial action was launched on Tuesday, October 11, and will run until Monday, October 17. Workers at Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), a subsidiary of Peel Ports that operates Liverpool, has dismissed a warning of job loses by the operator describing it as "desperate" and demanding a pay rise in line with inflation.

"Rather than enter into sensible negotiations, Peel Ports is making yet another cynical attempt to intimidate its workers," Unite the Union national officer Bobby Morton said in a statement, reports IHS Media.

Mr Morton was referring to an announcement by Peel Ports last week that it was starting redundancy consultations that will result in job losses as it restructures the Liverpool container division following a "marked deterioration" in volume over the past few months. He claimed 132 workers were issued redundancy notices last week, putting them at risk of being fired.

A spokesperson for Peel Ports blamed a drop in container volume at Liverpool over the past few months for the impending job losses, although he did not provide any figures. The spokesperson said in a statement that the decision to start redundancies was "extremely regrettable but now unavoidable, given the economic backdrop."

This was dismissed by the union, which said the threatened layoffs did not make business sense given that the port wanted to expand and had rejected previous redundancy proposals.

"It is clear that [Peel Ports] just want to avoid paying a fully affordable pay increase," Mr Morton said.

The union has rejected Peel Ports' offer of an average increase of 10.2 per cent in basic pay. Unite has called for a 12.3 per cent average increase in public statements, but a Peel Ports spokesperson said the union has demanded a 15.7 increase for its members.

"Unite, in talks last week, demanded a 15.7 per cent pay rise, almost double the rate of inflation at the June pay anniversary review date, and refuses a tripartite meeting with the independent advisory, conciliation, and arbitration service [ACAS], which would support mediation between the parties," the Peel Ports spokesperson said.