Southampton council strike spreads: £300m south coast port set to
grind to a halt
4 July 2011
Unison and Unite have today (Monday) notified Southampton city
council that the six week-long strike will spread to embrace more
of the essential public employees who keep the city
functioning.
On Monday, July 11th, the port health officers, who provide health
protection within Southampton port and oil refinery, through
inspection and certification of cruise liners, containers and oil
tankers, will join the strike, as
will the fleet transport workers who are responsible for the
maintenance of the council's fleet of refuse lorries, parks vans
and all council vehicles.
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.
ENDS
For further information contact Ian Woodland on 07770 704 480 or Mark
Wood 07918673741 (Unite)
OR Andy Straker on 02380 249 126
