Dover Port 48 hour strike begins

Workers at Dover Harbour have started a 48-hour strike in a row over transfer of their jobs to another company. Dover Harbour Board said it was confident it could run the port at a "near full" service despite the strike, but plans are in place for a possible implementation of Operation Stack between junctions 11 and 12 of the M20.

Members of Unite voted in favour of a strike over plans to transfer 190 jobs to the private sector in the New Year. Unite said its members were determined to protect their terms and conditions of employment, particularly their pensions which would be threatened by the outsourcing plans.