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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Port workers start 48-hour strike | Port workers start 48-hour strike |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| More than 300 workers at one of the UK's busiest ports have started a 48-hour strike in a row over transfer of their jobs to another company. | More than 300 workers at one of the UK's busiest ports have started a 48-hour strike in a row over transfer of their jobs to another company. |
| Members of the Unite union walked out at about 0700 GMT. | Members of the Unite union walked out at about 0700 GMT. |
| Dover Harbour Board said other staff had been trained to keep the port fully open for as long as they were needed. | |
| But Unite said its members were able to judge from the ferries entering and leaving that a normal service was not being run. | But Unite said its members were able to judge from the ferries entering and leaving that a normal service was not being run. |
| Striker Gary Punton said: "Two days' pay is a lot to a worker right on top of Christmas, but we are doing this because we believe we have to fight to save our futures." | Striker Gary Punton said: "Two days' pay is a lot to a worker right on top of Christmas, but we are doing this because we believe we have to fight to save our futures." |
| Create new jobs | Create new jobs |
| Unite has said that if jobs are transferred to a private firm, its members' terms and conditions and pensions could suffer and jobs will be lost. | Unite has said that if jobs are transferred to a private firm, its members' terms and conditions and pensions could suffer and jobs will be lost. |
| The harbour board wants to turn the former Hoverport at the Western Docks into a second ferry terminal with a new marina and four new berths. | The harbour board wants to turn the former Hoverport at the Western Docks into a second ferry terminal with a new marina and four new berths. |
| The board said a second terminal would help create 1,000 new jobs locally and also ease traffic problems. | The board said a second terminal would help create 1,000 new jobs locally and also ease traffic problems. |
| Port of Dover chief executive Bob Goldfield said: "We have 250 other staff trained in various aspects of port operation. | Port of Dover chief executive Bob Goldfield said: "We have 250 other staff trained in various aspects of port operation. |
| "They are fully trained to keep the port open." | "They are fully trained to keep the port open." |
| Kent Police warned that the strike could lead to freight and traffic delays. | Kent Police warned that the strike could lead to freight and traffic delays. |
| A lane on the M20 motorway has been closed in preparation for Operation Stack which could be introduced between junctions 11 and 12 to allow vehicles to queue. | A lane on the M20 motorway has been closed in preparation for Operation Stack which could be introduced between junctions 11 and 12 to allow vehicles to queue. |
| A spokesman for the port said it was still operating a full sailing schedule with no delays, although there was some minor congestion on the approach to the ferry terminal. | |
| Dover has also been handling traffic diverted from Eurotunnel following a train breakdown. |