Union bosses have warned a summer of disruption is looming at Plymouth’s Devonport Naval Base after tug crews went on strike in a row over shift patterns,
Workers staged a 24-hour walkout at the base from 7am on Friday, April 9, and Unite the Union described paticipation as “solid”. The union said that unless further talks with employer Serco Marine take place there could be further industrial action.
Unite said that about 40 tractor tug crew members employed by Serco Marine at Devonport were on strike as part of the dispute over the imposition of a new “three weeks on and three weeks off” roster, imposed in December 2020. Previous actions in the dispute were called off the 11th hour.
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The union has said the strike will cause “serious disruption” for the Royal Navy. The tug boats are vital for assisting Royal Navy vessels, including surface ships and submarines, to leave and return to harbour safely.
Devonport tug dispute - the story so far
But Serco denied the walkout would be as disruptive as the union anticipates and said it was not expecting any problems for the Royal Navy.
Unite called on the firm to return to the negotiating table, however, and Bobby Morton, Unite national officer, said: “Unite members, who are taking strike action today (April 9) over the imposition of a new unreasonable roster system, have shown great solidarity in standing up to outsourcing giant Serco.
“The ‘three week on and three week off’ rota has serious health and safety implications for our tugboat crew members, including excessive fatigue.
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“We call on the Serco bosses to come to the negotiating table and hold constructive talks to resolve this issue, otherwise further strike action into the spring and summer remains very much on the cards.”
A Serco spokesman said the company had nothing to add to previous statements which had stressed that the firm was disappointed Unite had decided to call industrial action, and affirmed it had held talks at Acas as well as negotiations in Plymouth and was “continuing to work to find a negotiated resolution”.
The dispute has been simmering since 2020 and strikes were planned for the Christmas and New Year period, but Unite suspended them as “an act of goodwill” for talks under the auspices of the conciliation service, Acas, to take place. However, these reached an impasse the union said.
Tractor tug crew members had planned to strike between December 25 and 30. The strike action had been called earlier in December after a ballot, with a 92.3% turnout, saw 97.2% vote in favour of strike action.
Unite has claimed the new working pattern will cause serious health and safety risks for its members, including excessive tiredness and have adverse implications for workers’ annual leave entitlement.