Following the announcement of 24-hour strike dates, which members of Unite the Union at Red Funnel will be taking part in, the ferry company say they expect to keep sailing on those dates.
The dates announced for strike action over pay a dispute are:
- 27th July
- 1st, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 29th August
Major Isle of Wight events taking place during some of those dates includes Ventnor Fringe Festival, Cowes Week and the Summer Bank Holiday.
Leanna Lakes, Operations Director at Red Funnel, said,
“Unite has confirmed a series of dates for industrial action.
“We expect to keep sailing on these dates, albeit to a revised vehicle ferry timetable. Our Hi-Speed Red Jet service is expected to operate as scheduled.
“Now that we have dates in hand, we can proceed to finalising an updated timetable, which we intend to share by Wednesday, 13th July.”
Don’t call contact centre
Red Funnel have asked customers to avoid calling their contact centre. Leanna went on to explain,
“In the meantime, we ask that customers bear with us and please refrain from calling our contact centre team with related queries at this time.
“As ever, our priority is to ensure the Island community remains connected and that we continue to provide our lifeline service.”
Red Funnel members of Unite the Union argue that the pay offer from the ferry company is far below the real cost of living, currently running, the union says, at 11.7 per cent and rising.
