Coastguards stage first-ever strike

LONDON (Reuters) - Coastguards went on strike on Thursday for the first time ever, in a row over pay.

The 24-hour stoppage by up to 700 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will hit 999 distress calls and operations in the country's 19 rescue coordination centres.

The French military is expected to take over responsibility for shipping in the English Channel, the union said.

Peter Cardy, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), said lives will not be put at risk.

Contingency plans had been put in place, including re-routing communications to cover all emergency calls.

Coastguards, who say they feel "betrayed and let down", want the same level of pay as other emergency services.

They argue that coastguard watch assistants, who actively participate in search planning, are only being paid the national minimum wage. Salaries start at 12,097 pounds.

Staff have also suffered from below-inflation pay rises, the union says. Increases have averaged just 2.5 percent for many, with the most experienced receiving less than one percent.

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, added: "Today's strike, the first in the Coastguard Agency's history, is not a step our members have taken lightly.