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August 21 2022
16:33 pm
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More than 1,900 workers at Britain’s largest container port will begin an eight-day strike on Sunday that their unions and shipping companies have warned could seriously affect trade and supply chains.
Employees at the port of Felixtow on the east coast of England are going on strike amid a wage dispute, in the latest episode of strikes in Britain, with unions demanding higher wages for their members facing a cost-of-living crisis.
“The strike is going to cause a major disruption to all UK supply chains, but this whole disagreement is of the company’s making,” said Bobby Morton, the unit’s local dock worker.
“The company previously had every opportunity to make a fair offer to our members, but it chose not to,” he added.
Hutchison, the operator of Felixtow, said on Friday it believed its offer of a seven percent pay increase and a lump sum of 500 pounds ($604) was fair. It added that the port workers’ union, which represents about 500 employees in supervisory, engineering and clerical work, had accepted the agreement.
But Unite, which mainly represents dockers, said the proposal was well below the current rate of inflation.
The port said it would activate an emergency plan and work to reduce disruptions during the strike, which will last until August 29.
Shipping group Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, has warned of the significant impact of this strike, which will delay operations and force it to make changes to its ships’ voyages.
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