Hundreds of port workers at the Port of Liverpool, one of the UK’s largest container ports, will stage two more weeks of strikes over pay and jobs. Nearly 600 dockworkers will walk out again from October 24 to November 7, after industrial action over recent weeks, the Unite union has said.

Port owner Peel Holdings said it had offered a pay rise worth around 10.2%, but the union maintained the increase was only around 8.2% and amounted to a real terms cut in pay compared to the 12.3% inflation rate.

Meanwhile, the strike over jobs comes as Peel Ports, the second largest port group in the UK, issued redundancy notices to 132 staff, citing a marked deterioration in the volume of containers handled by the port. “Instead of negotiations to resolve this dispute, the company has chosen to threaten jobs and repeatedly mislead about the deal it has tabled,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.

The union added it was also preparing to ballot the port’s dock masters, shift managers and vessel traffic services officers over possible strike action, warning the combined impact would leave the entire port inoperable.