In Scotland workers at the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) the General Lighthouse Authority for the country and the Isle of Man, are set to vote on whether to walk out for the first time in a dispute over pay.

The GLA which has its main marine depot in Oban, deploys and maintains beacons and buoys, could go out if lighthouse workers vote for strike action in a dispute over pay, a union has warned.

Members of Unite, which are employed by the NLB, are being balloted on the strike action in what the union said is a historic first.

Unite said the NLB has offered 2% following a pay freeze last year.

In response the union branded “insulting”, describing it as a substantial real-terms pay cut over two years.

Around 30 Unite members, including able-seamen from the NLB’s two aids to navigation vessels, base assistants, cooks and technicians, will take part in the ballot.

The ballot opened on Tuesday March 28 and is to close on Monday April 24.

More from STV News on this development. 

The UK's biggest 'box'-boat port which has had a long-running dispute has ended after workers accepted a pay offer following strike action that first began almost four months ago. 

According to the Port of Felixstowe, more than 90% of workers had voted to accept a pay deal of 8.5% plus £1,000 from 1 January 2023.

The breakthrough in the container port in Suffolk, south-east England, which handles global and feeder services, follows a backdated 7% and £500 lump sum deal for 2022.

In both of the increases this will mean workers' basic pay will have risen by 16.1% from 2021 to 2023, before the two additional payments are considered.

The port's CEO Robert Ashton, said: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement on the 2023 pay deal.

"This is the earliest we have concluded an annual pay review and it provides welcome certainty and stability at a time when our employees, like everyone else, are facing an increase in the cost of living."

The port located on the North Sea reports ITV News has seen several shut downs since late summer when members of the union UNITE went on strike over pay.

For further reading on the resolution of the dispute click here.

Trade union, Unite has confirmed an improved pay offer was rejected by its members, who according to the Peel Ports Group will now go on strike at their Port of Liverpool container operations from 19 September to 3 October as Afloat previously reported. 

All other Liverpool operations are unaffected.

Peel Ports Group offer of an 8.3% pay package has been enhanced with a one-off payment of £750 for each container operative at the Port.

David Huck, Chief Operating Officer of Peel Ports Group, 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.”

Key Facts 

⦁ The improved 8.3% pay package includes: a 7% increase in basic pay, plus a 1.3% from pay rates and allowances and an additional £750 one-off discretionary payment for each port operative. The entire package equates to a 10% or £4,000 average increase in annual pay, backdated to June.

⦁ In addition the business has made a commitment to a shift pattern change that will result in a 25% reduction in night shift working.

⦁ The average salary for Container operatives would therefore increase to c£43k p.a., significantly above the Liverpool City Region and national average

⦁ Basic pay has increased every year above inflation for over a decade and from 2013 by a range of between 43 to 53%, an increase on inflation of between 16 and 26%

⦁ The highest paid striking employees within the Containers Division at the Port of Liverpool earned up to £71,000 p.a. in the last trading year 2021/22

⦁ The Union continues to demand an increase in base pay in excess of 12.3% and an additional increase in pay rates taking the overall package to c20%.