For weeks dock workers in Liverpool have been on strike. Finally, they found a solution to the conflict.
Workers are now back at the dock in Liverpool after a long period of strike. Photo by: Isak Broenseth.
The strike at the Liverpool dock is just one in a series of strikes across the UK this year. Prior to this, rail workers were protesting for higher wages and now nurses are set to go on strike.
The dock strike originally ended at November the 7th. Workers had been protesting their wages for weeks by then. On Friday November the 4th they rejected an offer from Peel Ports Group, and another two weeks of strike seemed likely. This would have been the fourth round of strike, and the parties would have to go into negotiations again. The dock workers are backed by Unite the Union, which is the largest union in the UK.
The solution
However, on Thursday November the 10th, news broke that they had found a solution. Liverpool dock workers employed by Peel Ports Group have won pay hikes between 14 per cent and 18 per cent plus, according to job grades, after a deal was secured by Unite, according to their website.
According to Peel Ports Group this was included in the offer the workers rejected two weeks ago:
A 7% increase in basic pay, plus a 1.3% from pay rates and allowances and an additional £750 one-off discretionary payment for each port operative. The entire package equates to a 10% or £4,000 average increase in annual pay, backdated to June.
The business has made a commitment to a shift pattern change that will result in a 25% reduction in night shift working
‘’It’s really simple. It’s a case of fairness and what’s fair. This employer has made 141 million pounds in profit, and they’re asking workers to take a pay cut. That is totally unfair, so I’m standing with the workers. We’re on strike for pay for them and their families’’, said Sharon Graham, general secretary of United the Union.
She highlighted that this is a big and problematic move but that it’s the only way to go for the workers.
‘’This is to make sure they get a decent pay rise. No worker wants to take strike action. It is very disruptive and a big thing to do. But they’ve tried everything else, every other possible negotiation’’, Graham added.
Further action seemed imminent from the worker’s point of view, and was set to happen from November 11th to November 21st. The offer from Peel Ports Group were voted down after a mass meeting, according to World Socialist Website. Contrary news suddenly broke on Thursday this week.
‘’This is a highly significant victory for the Unite members on Liverpool docks. The determined resolve of our members on the picket line and Unite's strikes-plus strategy has forced the company to see sense and do the right thing. Make no mistake – Unite will continue to fight for jobs, pay and conditions and defend workers relentlessly’’, Graham said after the deal was secured.
Restoring confidence
When we approached Peel Ports Group for a comment, press contact Rebecca Sweeney said that they won’t answer any specific questions on the matter. In a statement Peel Ports’ Chief Operating Officer David Huck said:
“We are delighted to have closed the pay deal with Unite the Union and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with focus on the future.’’
It also says in the statement that Peel Ports Group and Unite the Union will now work in partnership to support key customers and restore confidence post-industrial action.
“We thank our key customers across the supply chain for their support and patience during a challenging period for them, as well as our employees and the wider business’’.
“We have invested £1.2bn over the last decade, helping Liverpool to proudly reclaim its position as one of the UK’s most important port operations and the busiest transatlantic port in Britain”, said Huck.
Peel Ports Group is one of the UK and Ireland's largest port operators, owning and operating six of the UK’s most important ports. In addition to Liverpool they operate the ports at Heysham, Manchester Ship Canal, Medway (Sheerness/Chatham), Clydeport and Great Yarmouth.
A hard year
The action at the dock can partly be seen as a consequence and a backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. The port industry is one of several industries to experience industrial unrest during the summer of 2022. This led to media speculation of a possible "summer of discontent" involving widespread industrial unrest.
Unite national officer Bobby Morton said: “The hard work and solidarity of our members and reps at Peel Ports, combined with the union’s strategic tactics, has paid off. This victory is another reminder of why those who want to improve their pay and working lives should join Unite and become part of the fight for a better deal.”
Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK, with over 1.2 million members across construction, manufacturing, transport, logistics, and other sectors. The union was founded in 2007.
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Written by Isak Bronseth and Enrique Gutierrez.
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