Almost 2,000 workers are on strike at the Port of Felixstowe because they feel that the seven percent pay rise and lump sum offered are not enough due to the prevailing inflation.
Workers at Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port on the east coast of Suffolk, have gone on strike for the first time in 30 years, the public broadcaster said. BBC (switch to another service) on Sunday.
The work stoppage is scheduled to last for eight days and about 1,900 organized employees will take part in it. In total, more than 2,500 employees work in the port, among which stevedores and crane drivers, among others, went on strike.
According to the trade union Unite, it rejected the employer’s seven percent salary increase because the increase was lower than the prevailing inflation.
In Britain, inflation rose to a new 40-year record in the summer. In July, prices had risen by 10.1 percent compared to a year ago.
According to the employer, a seven percent increase and a one-off payment of 500 pounds would have raised wages by 8.1-9 percent at a time when average wage increases in the country are around five percent.
Employees of the railways and public transport, among others, have also gone on strike demanding wage increases. There are also other industrial struggles coming up. They have been reported at least by postal workers, lawyers, British Telecom telecommunications company employees and waste workers.
The strike may make it difficult for some products to be available in the UK
Felixstowe is Britain’s busiest port, and almost half of all container traffic in the country passes through it.
According to the trade union Unite, the strike will cause enormous damage to supply chains throughout Britain.
Maersk, a large company operating in the logistics sector, has warned that the strike could have a big impact on its operations. According to it, a strike can cause delays, for example.
The companies interviewed by the BBC also believe that they may face problems from the strike. CEO of a transport company called CP Transport Adam Searle says that the company can incur big losses if it has no containers to transport. According to him, the strike can also cause problems for supply chains.
– It does not affect the food distribution chains, because there are fresh foodstuffs in the warehouses. However, it affects supply chains for furniture, fences and all sorts of other goods.