Two Days Of Strikes Begins 

Teaching assistants and Customs and Immigration officials are striking today in their ongoing pay dispute with the States.

Numerous schools will be closed over lunchtime.  There's a list here.

For many parents it will mean collecting their child at 11.30 returning them to class at 2pm, when the walkout by the school support staff ends.

Customs and Immigration officials are striking for the whole day.

They are due to stage a protest at the harbour's Elizabeth Terminal between 12-1pm.

The States has said there will be an extra police presence and 'other contingencies' - which it won't reveal for operational reasons.

Passengers were being warned not to take advantage of the lack of Customs staff at the Airport or Harbour.

A Ports of Jersey spokesman said arriving travellers should stick to duty-free allowances because there will still be checks at their departure point.

The two sailings from St Malo to Jersey have been combined and re-routed via Guernsey, so islanders can go through border controls in St Peter Port.

Domestic travel is unaffected.

A 'working party' has been established to draw up further contingency plans in case of ongoing strike action.

Hundreds more civil servants will walkout on Tuesday.

The Hospital's pathology labs will be closed and unable to accept samples for testing.

Physiotherapy and Clinical Investigation clinics are cancelled and non-urgent x-rays have been rescheduled.

Customer and Local Services expect to offer most services at La Motte Street, but islanders are being advised to postpone any non-urgent visits until Wednesday.

"The States of Jersey regrets the impact that the strike will have on some of its services, but acknowledges the right of employees to take industrial action."

Striking public sector workers are expected to picket in the Royal Square at around midday, during this week's States sitting.

The States has published a table of civil service pay grades, in the midst of the ongoing strike action.

It says this will aid transparency and understanding - and show that at each grade the majority of employees are paid at the top of their pay scale.