Meridian strike

The Port of Dover is advisng customers and the local community of potential industrial action in the Port of Calais on Monday 8th December 2014, currently suggested to be between 08h00 and 18h00 local time. This may have an adverse impact on ferry services and capacity at the Port of Dover.

It is unclear how severely services may be affected. The Port of Calais does intend to keep a number of berths open for use throughout the day, although the number may be less than usual. Customers wishing to travel on Monday are strongly advised, where possible, to travel ahead of the possible action period.

The Port of Dover, together with its major ferry partners, will do all that it can to minimise any customer delays and community impact but some disruption should be anticipated from a situation beyond its control.

Due to the current high volumes of seasonal traffic and the potential disruption, there may be queues on the approach roads to the Port of Dover. Customers are therefore advised to allow plenty of time for their journey and the community should consider using alternative local routes to move around the area where possible.

Prison officers at Broadmoor are set to go on strike in a bitter dispute with the Government over health workers' pay.

Members of the Prison Officers Association will walk out of the high security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire between 7am and 11am this morning.

The dispute centres on the Government's controversial decision not to accept a recommended 1% wage increase for all NHS staff. The Prison Officers Association say a "high proportion" of its 1,300 members involved in the dispute will not receive a pay rise this year.

Firefighters in Berkshire only received one call during its two houre strike this lunchtime.

The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service joined fire services in industrial action over pensions between midday and 2pm today. During that time, the service received one call regarding a domestic automated fire alarm, but firefighters didn't need to attend.

The next strike period runs from 10.59 pm until 11.59 pm tonight and this pattern will continue every day up to and including 16 August.

Firefighters across the south will launch a fresh wave of strikes today in a bitter row with the Government over pensions, with no sign of a breakthrough in the long running dispute.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union will walk out for two hours at noon and again for an hour at 11pm. Strikes will be held for the same times over the next eight days.

Fire brigades will again put contingency plans in place, including using contract staff. Fewer fire engines will be available during the action.

The union has been campaigning for the past few years against controversial Government plans to change pensions. The FBU claims firefighters will have to work longer and receive lower pensions when they retire. The union accused the Government of "walking away" from talks earlier this week.

Teachers at a school in Hove are striking today in protest over plans to turn their school into an academy.

Hove Park School will be closed today as the decision looms over whether the school will become an academy in September.

The Conservative schools spokesman has thanked parents and carers who voted in the ballot on whether a school in Hove should become an academy.

The vote over Hove Park School's future saw 71% of parents disagreeing with the headteacher's plan to make the school an academy.

However, only 35.6% of ballot papers that were sent out to parents were returned.

Teachers at a Sussex school in the middle of a battle over plans to turn it into an academy are due to go on strike today.

Hove Park is closed to students, with a picket line expected at its entrance from 7am this morning.

Campaigners want to stop the school being converted into an academy, which would bring it out of local authority control.

ITV Meridian spoke to parent Natasha Steel.

David Cameron believes disruption caused by today's public sector strikes is "wrong", his official spokesman said.

Asked whether the Prime Minister felt strikes in the public sector could ever be justified, the spokesman said: "Does the Prime Minister think that people in this country - parents, commuters, users of public services - should have their routines disrupted? Of course he doesn't think it is right."

Asked for the PM's assessment of the impact of today's strikes, the spokesman responded that Cameron would say "any disruption any user of public services experiences is wrong".