Environment Agency workers to walk out in pay dispute

Thousands of Environment Agency workers are to strike in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unison and Prospect working in areas including river inspection, flood forecasting, coastal risk management and pollution control will walk out for 12 hours on February 8.

The unions said that for 12 hours either side of the walkout, Environment Agency employees will also escalate their ongoing work-to-rule by withdrawing from incident response rotas.

Where there is a genuine threat to life or property from something like a major flood, officers will step in as emergency “life and limb cover” has been agreed with agency managers.

Environment Agency staff belonging to Unison took strike action earlier this month. Now their colleagues who are in Prospect will join them for the first joint strike.

The unions say they are critical of the Government for not doing anything to end the dispute.

Environment Agency employees got a 2% pay rise (plus £345) this year, but the unions say wages have fallen by more than 20% in real terms since 2010.