WHEN: Sharon Graham will be available for interview from 0930hrs Wednesday 21 September 2022

WHERE: Port of Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside, L21 1LA.

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Billionaire owned Liverpool port made £30 million profits in 2021 but refuses cost-of-living pay rise

More than 560 port operatives and maintenance engineers employed by MDHC are taking two weeks of strike action that will end on 3 October over a pay offer equating to approximately 8.3 per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 12.3 per cent this is a pay cut.

Workers are also striking over MDHC’s failure to honour the 2021 pay agreement. This includes the company not undertaking a promised pay review, which last happened in 1995, and failing to deliver on an agreement to improve shift rotas.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “MDHC can well afford to pay its workers a decent pay rise and must do so. It also needs to honour the 2021 pay agreement it made with the workforce. Our MDHC members are being asked to accept attacks on their living standards while the company gets richer and richer – Unite will not tolerate that.”

MDHC, which made more than £30 million in profits in 2021, is owned by the Peel Group ­– based in the Isle of Man tax haven. 

The group’s majority owner is UK tycoon John Whittaker, who is worth more than £1.4 billion and is also based in the Isle of Man. The Australian investment fund, Australian Super, is the group’s second largest investor.

ENDS 

Notes to editors:

For interview requests for Sharon Graham please contact Unite senior communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215.

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @unitetheunion Facebook: unitetheunion1 Instagram: unitetheunion

Web: unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.