Thousands of environment agency workers from across the country took strike action over pay on Wednesday for the first time in the agency’s history.
Environment Agency salaries have fallen by more than 20% compared to inflation since 2010, which means staff are effectively working one day in every five for free.
To make matter worse, workers were only given a 2% pay rise (plus £345) for this financial year, but the previous year, the majority of staff had a pay freeze and received nothing at all.
River inspectors, flood forecasting officers, coastal risk management officers, sewage plant attendants and staff at the Thames Barrier are among those who walked out, escalating their industrial action after refusing to do voluntary overtime in the run up to the festive period.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea visited some of the agency strikers at the Thames Barrier to show her and the union’s solidarity.
Blog: Standing with our EA members
Photos by Marcus Rose
Highlights from the rest of the country
Meanwhile, Environment Agency workers were out on picket lines across the rest of the country – here are just a few of the highlights from the day.
Great drone footage of the picket line at the flood barriers at Frankwell in Shrewsbury.
These people go out all weathers, all hours, all year to keep us safe and protected. Yet every year their pay is falling #EAFairPay https://t.co/wNsB6nCE5x
— UNISON – UK's largest union (@unisontheunion) January 18, 2023
✊Great turnout on a cold, crisp morning at the environment agency picket in Sheffield@UNISON_WET #FairPayEA#EAFairPay#Strike#EnvironmentAgency pic.twitter.com/U1pj0UwPhQ
— UNISON Yorkshire & Humberside (@unisonyh) January 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/unisonglr/status/1615707844791369729?s=20&t=m19vP3cJNHoSYRuYa4QH2w
Early morning picket in #Sheffield #EAFairPay pic.twitter.com/boedSliGyt
— UNISON – UK's largest union (@unisontheunion) January 18, 2023
Environment Agency workers are on strike today in Newcastle.
They are taking action because of the governments failure to fund the EA properly has led to squeezed budgets and wage rises that bear no relation to the cost of living or the going rate for some skilled jobs. pic.twitter.com/Y166lCLwEJ
— UNISON Northern (@NorthernUNISON) January 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/UNISONSE/status/1615650378296467456?s=20&t=dXS6J1zNorHQ28siYRgFXQ
UNISON strike picket up and running near Environment Agency Ceres House in Lincoln this morning, supporting the union’s #EAFairPay campaign for Fair Pay in the EA. @unisontheunion pic.twitter.com/evKM85AGYl
— UNISON Water, Environment & Transport (@UNISON_WET) January 18, 2023
