Workers at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have overwhelmingly voted for industrial action short of a strike in a dispute over low pay.
More than 80% of union members taking part in the ballot voted for the action, which will see members withdrawing from non-essential 999 emergency duties.
The decision follows the rejection by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) of a below-inflation cost of living increase which, the union claimed, averages at just 2.5% for many.
The row over pay has rumbled on since August last year.
Paul Smith, PCS negotiations officer for the MCA, said: “This unprecedented vote illustrates the sense of betrayal that key emergency service workers feel, not only about a below-inflation pay offer, but also about the total disregard of the pay comparison evidence with other 999 services.”
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