John Austin

Labour Party | Erith and Thamesmead

Trade Union MP in bid to save Ford Ferry

Belvedere’s MP, John Austin, is holding talks with trade unions and neighbouring Members of Parliament in a bid to save the Ford Ferry which takes workers from Belvedere to Ford at Dagenham.

John, a life-long trades unionist and member of Amicus, is convening a meeting to discuss the matter at the House of Commons this week. John Austin said: “Ford at Dagenham may not employ the number of people it has in the past, but many of those employed there come from south of the river and many are shift-workers who depend on the ferry to get to work. Its withdrawal could add two to four hours to journey times and currently around 300 workers depend upon it.”

John added: “Workers with cars could drive using the Dartford Tunnel, Blackwall Tunnel or the Woolwich Ferry and anyone who uses those routes knows the difficulties. But for workers without cars the position would be intolerable as public transport links are very poor and it could entail journeys using rail, tube and bus and it could be impossible with some shifts”.

Ford announced that they would end the service on 30 January which prompted the trade unions Amicus and the Transport & general Workers Union to launch a legal challenge. John Austin said: “Following application to the courts for an injunction, Ford has agreed to operate an alternative bus service until the court case can be heard. That is a major concession.”

The ferry service has been operating since the 1950s and John Austin and the unions argue that the service is a contractual term and that its withdrawal is a breach of contract.