Strike action by the health officers has the potential to bring to a halt Southampton’s port – one of the busiest in the UK with container ships and cruise liners docking daily, bringing around £300m from docking cruise liners alone to the city coffers annually.
The 13 port health officers will take five days of action from 00.01 hours on Monday July 11th. During this time there will be major disruption to ships entering and leaving the port and to the distribution of cargo containers, with the city losing an estimated £1 million for every day the port sits idle.
The unions are dubbing July 11th the council leadership’s Armageddon Day – the day that it will sack workers who refuse to accept inferior jobs and pay cuts.
According to the unions, the deepening strike is a sign of the mounting frustration among the council workforce over their employer’s mishandling of talks convened through the official concilliators, ACAS. After 20 hours of negotiations, the council was still unwilling to lift its deadline of July 11th when those employees who have refused to sign inferior contracts will be sacked.
The unions have repeatedly stated that if the council lifts this deadline they will immediately suspend all strike action.
Ian Woodland, Unite regional officer, said:”Royston Smith and Jeremy Moulton must wake up now to how serious this city’s council employees are about getting justice. There is absolutely no need for this city to force people onto lower wages – to do so is a malicious attempt to bully worried people into accepting any terms in order to hang onto their jobs.
“Our great port will now suffer badly thanks to the stubborness of the council leadership. They know full well there is a better way forward and it ought to have dawned on them that the people of this city do not believe their dire propaganda about Southampton’s future.
“This council is marching this city towards an Armageddon deadline of July 11th but when cabinet ministers like Eric Pickles tell you to start talking then you are irresponsible if you do not listen. Lift the deadline, we will immediately suspend action and talks can re-open without precondition.”
Andy Straker of Unison added: “Southampton workers from the kerbside to the dockside are now striking against Royston Smith’s cuts. This is phenomenal statement about this employer’s extremely poor handling of this dispute.
“Royston Smith and Jeremy Moulton know full well that since autumn last year the unions have been urging them to work with us on an alternative to the drastic Tory cuts. This city has the financial resources to weather this economic storm if the political will was there to use them intelligently.
“The council leadership’s failure to do so tells the people of this city that they are not interested in a shared settlement – they want to hammer the workforce and their unions. Well, the workers of this city will not stand by and let them attack jobs and services so our message is wise up and talk because negotiation is the only way forward.”
City-wide action starting on Monday July 11th will involve:
120 workers in waste and recycling
60 workers in street cleansing
150 library workers
20 Itchen toll bridge collectors
40 parking enforcement officers
20 contact supervisors (social care)
who will all take seven days action from that date.
14 environment fleet transport workers
13 port health officers who will take five days of action from Monday July 11th.