A 48-hour bank holiday strike by coastguard staff in the North is to end this evening.
Their strike is part of a UK-wide action being taken by 700 office-based Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) workers over a long-running pay dispute. It began at 7pm on Saturday night and will end at 7pm today
The MCA said contingency plans were in place but advised holidaymakers and boat users to take extra care today.
The MCA added that the industrial action was being taken by people responsible for co-ordinating rescues, and that boat crews of the RNLI would operate as normal.
According to the RNLI, the strike has had little impact in the North.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said its members are angry at being paid less than the other emergency services.
The union said staff have experienced real-terms pay cuts with pay rises averaging just 2.5 per cent for most staff, and less than 1 per cent for senior personnel.
The August bank holiday stoppage follows five days of strike action earlier in the year, which the PCS said led to the closure of nearly half of the UK’s rescue co-ordination centres.
Agencies
