Jamie Carragher sent a message to striking dockers to "keep going" as hundreds are expected to join picket lines today.
The former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit, sent the message in solidarity with over 560 Port of Liverpool workers who tonight begin a two-week-long strike. The striking dockers - members of the Unite the union - voted in favour of industrial action in response to a pay offer they considered unsatisfactory.
Carragher told those playing to strike to "keep going" and said that he is "fully behind" the strike action. He said the striking dockers "fully deserved everything" they are asking for.
READ MORE: Dock workers to begin two-week strike
In a post on Unite's North West Twitter account, Carragher said: "This is my message in support of the Liverpool dockers who are gong on strike to improve the pay and work conditions of the whole workforce.
"I'm fully behind what you're doing and you've got my support and backing. You fully deserve everything that you're fighting for. Keep going."
Union members at the Port of Liverpool voted to take strike action in August, after they turned down a 8.3% pay offer proposed by MDHC, the company who operates the port.
A spokesperson for Unite said "with the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 12.3 percent and rising is a pay cut". MDHC, owned by the Peel Group, reportedly made £30m profits in 2021 but Unite claimed the port operator has failed to honour a 2021 pay agreement.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “MDHC is controlled by a tax-exiled billionaire and can well afford to pay these workers a proper pay rise.
"Workers across the country are sick to death of being told to take a hit on their wages and living standards while employer after employer is guilty of rampant profiteering. MDHC needs to think again, table a reasonable offer and fulfil its previous pay promises.”
Unite lead officer for freeports, Steven Gerrard, said: “MDHC has refused to honour the previous pay pledges it made to our members and is refusing to put forward an acceptable pay rise now. It has no one else to blame for the disruption that will be caused.
“MDHC needs to deliver on the agreements it made in 2021 as well as tabling an offer our members can accept for 2022.”
David Huck, chief operating officer at Peel Ports, said: “I am deeply disappointed Unite has rejected our significant pay package after many months of negotiation. This is bad news for our employees, families and other local employers.
“We fully recognise our colleagues’ concerns on the cost of living crisis, and that’s why we have responded with a pay package which represents a 10% average increase in annual pay.
“The Port of Liverpool is a major employer in the Liverpool City Region. We have invested more than £1.2b over the last decade, transforming the prosperity of the region, creating over 900 new skilled jobs and in turn supporting over 7,200 additional local jobs in the supply chain.
“We urge the union to work with us at the negotiating table so together we can find a resolution.”
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