Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and a number of Labour MPs joined dock workers at the Port of Liverpool as they embarked on their second week of strike action.
More than 560 workers from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) walked out on Tuesday, September 20, in a row over wages and working conditions.
On Saturday, more than 300 supporters, many of them attending the annual Labour party conference in Liverpool, rallied at the docks in Seaforth in solidarity with the striking workers.
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Dock worker Mike Jay said: "The Labour party grew out of the trade union movement, and the support we have seen over the weekend has been fantastic."
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, Zarah Sultana, John McDonnell and other Labour MPs, as well as RMT leader Mick Lynch, took to the picket line this morning, September 26.
Angus Satow, of Momentum, a left-wing organisation supporting the Labour party, said: "We are out here supporting the dockers in their struggle. We have solidarity with them fighting the cost of living crisis. We're also here to say that the Labour leadership should be standing with the dock workers.
"We're supposed to be the voice of working people, and after seeing a class war-type budget from the Tories - slashing taxes for coporations and the richest in our society - now is the time for Labour to show its support for working people.
"Labour has a long-standing commitment to the people of Liverpool, and that should mean the dockers are supported.
"These are the people Labour should be representing. Inflation is soaring, bills are going through the roof, food costs are going up and up. Supporting a pay rise for the workers is exactly what we should be doing."
The picket line could continue until October 3 as the dock workers continue to strike over a 8.3% pay rise offer, which they say amounts to a pay cut as it is not in line with the current rate of inflation.
They have also objected to what they say is MDHC’s failure to undertake a pay review, and a lack of improvements to shift rotas.
Mike said: "We have not heard anything from the company. We're willing to come back to the negotiating table and we have had nothing back from them. They have obviously planned for these two weeks, because there are no vessels coming in. All we have had is the pay offer which is not in line with inflation or RPI, and a £750 one-off payment which is no good for the long-term."
Fellow dock worker John Lynch said: "Food parcel donations have been coming in from the public, which are gratefully received. Sharon Graham (Unite the Union leader) has been supporting us 100%. It doesn't cover the wages, but it covers the basics."
David Huck, chief operating officer at Peel Ports, has previously said: "We fully recognise our colleagues’ concerns on the cost-of-living crisis, and that’s why we have responded with a pay package that represents a 10% average increase in annual pay. The Port of Liverpool is a major employer in the Liverpool City Region.
“We have invested more than £1.2 billion over the last decade, transforming the prosperity of the region, creating more than 900 new skilled jobs and, in turn, supporting more than 7,200 additional local jobs in the supply chain. We urge the union to work with us at the negotiating table so that together we can find a resolution."
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