Union warns swimmers as coastguards go on strike

London: The public should stay out of the sea over the Bank Holiday weekend as coastguards hold a national strike to demand more pay, a union leader said on Saturday.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said people should not venture out to sea unless absolutely necessary during what is expected to be the busiest weekend of the summer for coastal resorts.

About 700 staff at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) walked out from 7pm local time yesterday and return to work at the same time on Bank Holiday tomorrow.

The action involves office-based staff who co-ordinate the service, rather than rescue teams. Royal National Lifeboat Institution crews will operate as usual.

The MCA said people should take extra care at the seaside and sailors should "look very carefully at their plans".

The strike is the latest by public sector workers demanding higher wages to help meet rising household bills.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says pay rises must be modest to keep inflation under control.

Serwotka said coastguards, whose salaries start at £12,509 (Dh85,177) were seeking an extra £3,000 (Dh20,427) a year, adding that their wages had been eroded in real terms by high inflation and low pay rises.

"Members have rightly grown angry at the scandalous refusal to pay them the same as other emergency service workers, and by the government's policy to cap public sector pay increases below inflation," he said in a statement.

Thousands of teachers, council workers and civil servants have already gone on strike this year over pay. With inflation at 4.4 per cent, more than twice the Bank of England's target, the government has resisted their wage claims.

Emergency service

MCA Chief Executive Peter Cardy said the agency will provide an emergency service, although he warn-ed people to think carefully before going out to sea.

"Plans are in place to provide cover, but I am encouraging everybody working or playing on the sea or on the beach this Bank Holiday weekend to take extra care," he said.

The Met Office forecasts a mix of sun and rain for most areas this weekend, with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees Celsius.