Coastguards - Striking for more money
WORKERS, SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE
Over the busy August Bank Holiday, Britain's coastguards went on strike for better pay. Over 700 workers for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency want a better settlement than the offer made by the government.
The two-day strike followed five days of action earlier this year, and comes in the wake of other strikes by civil servants. Inflation is heading for 5 per cent a year; basic costs such as fuel, food and utilities are going up faster. It's no surprise that workers in government offices are not satisfied with the prospect of pay rises of 2.5 per cent or less.
This government's public pay policy is no different to any of its predecessors. Pay must be "fair and affordable" says Gordon Brown – clearly those working for him have a different idea of what that means.