Strike action begins at UK’S biggest port
The first of an eight-day workers strike at the UK’S biggest container port began yesterday, amid warnings about the impact on supply chains.
Around 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe have walked out in a dispute over pay in the first strike to hit the port since 1989.
Felixstowe handles nearly half of the containerised freight entering the country and the action could mean vessels have to be diverted to ports elsewhere in the UK or Europe.
It is the latest outbreak of industrial action to hit a growing number of sectors of the economy.
Workers including crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores are taking action after voting by more than 9-1 in favour of strikes.
The union said the stoppage will have a big impact on the port, which handles around four million containers a year from 2,000 ships.
But a port source said the strikes will be an “inconvenience not a catastrophe”, claiming that the supply chain was now used to disruption following the pandemic.
“Disruption is the new normal. The supply chain has moved from ‘just in time to just in case’,” he added.
He also suggested that some suppliers of white goods such as fridge freezers might actually welcome a break because of slower sales due to the costof-living crisis.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Felixstowe docks is enormously profitable. The latest figures show that in 2020 it made £61 million in profits.
“Its parent company, CK Hutchison Holding Ltd, is so wealthy that, in the same year, it handed out £99 million to its shareholders.
“So they can give Felixstowe
workers a decent pay raise. It’s clear both companies have prioritised delivering multi-million-pound profits and dividends rather than paying their workers a decent wage.
“Unite is entirely focused on
enhancing its members’ jobs, pay and conditions and it will be giving the workers at Felixstowe its complete support until this dispute is resolved and a decent pay increase is secured.”
The Port of Felixstowe said in a statement: “The company is disappointed that Unite has not taken up our offer to come to the table.”