A THIRD phase of industrial action has started at the port of Liverpool in a dispute over pay.

Liverpool operator Peel Ports said the union had rejected an improved offer, but Unite the Union, which represents workers at the Merseyside terminals, said Peel Ports’ board had pulled out from a potential deal at the last minute.

“It is hugely disappointing that Unite has staged yet another outdated show-of-hands mass meeting which has, very predictably, failed to support our improved 11% pay offer,” said Peel Ports chief operating officer David Huck.

“This is the highest percentage increase of any port group in the UK by far and would see average annual pay rise to £43,275 ($49,000).”

Mr Huck questioned Unite’s intentions after the union rejected a sixth offer and continued to resist a negotiated settlement through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

“The fact that they have refused to give all employees an independent postal vote on this 11% offer, free from the pressures and undue influence of an outdated show-of-hands, is very telling,” he said.

“Our feedback from many workers is that they are in favour of accepting but are too reluctant to do so in a mass meeting. They should have the courage to put this to members and let them have their say. It’s the only way to safeguard as many jobs as possible and implement the most generous pay increase in the industry.”

Unite, however, said it had been negotiating with management and had reached a deal with management that would be accepted by the workforce, but that had then been quashed by the board.

“The Unite team negotiated in good faith with Peel Ports,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham. “But the talks ended in farce, with the deal agreed between Unite and senior management being pulled by the board.”

She added that workers had been subject to redundancy threats since the industrial action began on September 19.

“Peel Ports’ untrustworthy behaviour and its attempts to threaten the workforce are only escalating the dispute,” Ms Graham said.

The continuing strike action would bring further disruption to shippers using Liverpool for imports and exports, Mr Huck said.

“The latest two-week strike will cause yet further damage to our customers, the business and the Liverpool City Region, threatening even more jobs at the port. It is wholly irresponsible of Unite to prolong this self-defeating strike.”

Data from Project44 showed that import containers at Liverpool were delayed by 17 days in early October, but Flexport said shipments could either be picked up earlier or diverted to other ports, adding that the overall congestion situation was continuing to follow a “negative trend”.