London group Ebony Bones playing on the Vale Castle stage last year. (0477650)

THE Vale Earth Fair could be thrown into disarray if strike action by public service workers goes ahead on the bank holiday weekend.
The annual music event is held at the Vale Castle on Sunday 24 August and has attracted acts from the UK and Jersey as well as Guernsey. However, a strike could stop bands transporting equipment or even reaching the island.
If the action follows the same pattern as last month it would see ro-ro ramp operators, crane drivers and marina staff refusing to work. Airport firefighters also walked out for  short periods.
It has been suggested that the bank holiday weekend has been earmarked for a strike but Unite regional industrial organiser Ron Le Cras insisted that no date had been set.
He said it was still likely that further strike action would take place unless talks started again with a ‘positive attempt at reaching a resolution’, but he refused to comment on the date speculation.
And he also declined to discuss whether further action was needed with the issue now set to be decided by either voluntary arbitration or through an industrial tribunal.