About 1800 manual workers at Port of Felixstowe planned to walk out in August as a gesture against the port officials. They are members of Unite, the UK's leading union. The regional officer of Unite, Miles Hubbard, believed that such a strike would yield adverse outcomes. At the same time, he insisted that workers needed to speak their own voices.
About 1800 manual workers at Port of Felixstowe planned to walk out in August as a gesture against the port officials. They are members of Unite, the UK's leading union. The regional officer of Unite, Miles Hubbard, believed that such a strike would yield adverse outcomes. At the same time, he insisted that workers needed to speak their own voices.
The strike stemmed from pay disputes. In late July, the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company offered a 5% pay increase to its workers. However, if taking the real rate of inflation, which hit 11.9%, into consideration, the so-called pay rise actually amounted to an effective pay cut.
The talk between port officials and union leaders over the pay disputes did not work out on August 1, 2022. Issues would be resolved if a more realistic pay offer had been made. Further strikes would go on at Port of Felixstowe, with expectations to go ahead towards the end of August. Backlogs would develop, and logistics challenges would mount. Diverting shipments remained an unpractical option because other ports lacked the same infrastructure as that of Port of Felixstowe.
If the strike action continues, Port of Felixstowe, the largest container port in the UK, could bring disruptions to the whole supply chain in the UK. It has the capacity to handle up to 48% of container trade entering the UK, with huge knock-on impacts.
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