More than a dozen dock workers at GAC at the QEII dock in Eastham are to take strike action next week after a poor pay offer from their employer.

The highly skilled dock operatives currently earn approximately £30,000 per year and have been offered a pay increase as low as two per cent for some workers. This real-terms pay cut was unanimously rejected by workers who then voted for industrial action. Workers are also angry over on-call arrangements

Unite has calculated that a single day of strike action will cost the company more than the value of the pay claim, as ships will have to anchor outside the dock at significant cost. These ships cannot go to alternative docks either, so there is no commercial sense to GAC's intransigence.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is an appalling low offer from GAC and our members won't stand for another year of below-inflation pay offers that will make them worse off.

"They have the full backing of Unite in this dispute against a company that can easily afford to pay them properly for the incredibly valuable work they perform."

Workers at GAC will be taking industrial action on 1, 3 14 and 16 September 2026. Picket lines will be from 07:00 until 12:00 on these days at the dockside in Eastham.

Unite regional officer Ian McCluskey said: "There is a real appetite from the members to strike this year, because they reasonably believe that they have been left behind in pay deals for a number of years. This cannot continue and they are determined to win this dispute."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications advisor Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235.

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Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham