Civil servants have been in dispute with management since last year

Animal inspectors at the County Antrim port began week-long strike action on Monday in an ongoing dispute over civil service pay.

Thousands of civil servants have taken part in a series of strikes since late last year over being denied a "cost of living" pay increase from April 2003.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement on Monday that contingency measures had been put in place to ensure animal imports business continued as usual.

The public service union Nipsa earlier claimed no livestock would be allowed to move through Larne port from Monday onwards because animal disease control measures would not be able to function normally.

The dispute also means MoTs and driving tests will not take place in Newry, Armagh and Lisburn for the rest of the week.

Finance staff from the Department of Environment and Department for Employment and Learning in Belfast city centre will also be on strike.

Nipsa general secretary John Corey said Northern Ireland was "heading for a record number of working days lost through industrial disputes".

Escalation

This latest action follows an escalation of the dispute last week, which saw civil servants stepping up their industrial action at social security offices across Northern Ireland.

Up to 300 workers from the jobs and benefits offices at Lisnagelvin and Foyle in Londonderry and at Newtownabbey in County Antrim went out on strike.

The government has imposed a pay package which will add 3.67% to the wage bill of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

However, union officials say that was part of a pre-agreed increment and takes no account of the rise in the cost of living.