Tensions are mounting between Port of Liverpool bosses and dock workers as the ongoing row over pay and working conditions reaches a stalemate.
Peel Ports has called on striking dock workers to "call off this self-defeating industrial action" after accusing the union of “significantly misrepresenting” their final pay offer, which they say accurately reflects inflation rates and the mounting cost of living crisis.
But Unite the Union, which represents the dockers, accused the company of "fudging the numbers," as the company's claim of a 10.2% increase was "based on the maximum someone could earn if they work overtime on top of their weekly contracted hours".
READ MORE: Defiant dock workers return to picket line as port bosses threaten job cuts
Around 600 workers from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, which Peel Ports oversees, embarked on their second round of strike action yesterday after company and union bosses failed to reach an agreement.
On Friday, the company announced plans to cut 132 jobs as it makes changes to its containers division following a decline in the volume of cargo handled by the port. Union leader Sharon Graham said the move was "a cynical attempt to intimidate workers".
Peel Ports has now called on MDHC employees to accept its 'final offer' of a 10.2% average increase, made up of an 8.9% rise in basic pay, a 0.3% rise in night shift allowance, and a rise in rates of pay up to 4%.
It has also agreed to make improvements to shift rotas from January 1 2023, according to correspondence shared with The ECHO.
Peel Ports chief operating officer David Huck said: “We have made Unite the Union a very generous and realistic final offer of 10.2% but they have so far refused to allow staff to vote on it via an independent postal ballot. What possible reason would they have to reject that?
“A significant number of employees have raised concerns with us about the recent ballot process. We have therefore written to Unite leaders today asking them to give their members a proper vote, rather than simply relying on a show-of-hands in mass meetings involving only a small minority of employees, which is clearly an outdated and far from satisfactory way of gauging responses.
“As employers, we have moved a long, long way in our discussions and have more than doubled our original pay increase, which is now 2% higher than any other port operator in the UK. And that’s against a backdrop of falling container volumes and a real tightening of the market."
Mr Huck said the new offer would see average wages increase to £43,000 - but workers at the picket line said this average encompassed higher-paid Peel Ports employees who were not on strike, and that many striking workers made less than £25,000 per year.
Unite national officer Robert Morton said: "Peel Ports is fudging the numbers. The 10.2% figure is based on the maximum someone could earn if they work overtime on top of their weekly contracted hours. If the company offered a clear 10.2% rise for all grades we would take it to ballot.
"The reality is that the company has offered our members around 8.3% - some pay grades would receive less than that and others slightly more. Our members have already overwhelmingly rejected this offer, which is nowhere near the RPI inflation rate of 12.3%, during a vote in a mass meeting.
"As with Peel's redundancy threats, this is another transparent attempt to break the strike. It won't work. Both our members and Unite are resolute – Peel Ports brings in huge profits and needs to put forward a pay rise that reflects soaring inflation. "
The two parties remain at odds as both accuse the other of refusing to return to the negotiating table.
Mr Huck said the union refused to meet with ACAS, the advisory, conciliation and arbitration service, which would mediate between management and workers.
But Mr Morton said: "Unite would be happy to attend Acas, but the company has told us it will not budge on the 8.3% offer. There is no point conducting talks until the company agrees to negotiate on its position, which means being truthful about what it is actually offering."
Mr Huck added: "We would urge the union... to get back round the table and call off this self-defeating industrial action.”
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