Britain: Eight-day strike begins at Felixstowe, the country’s largest cargo port

It starts today strike at Britain’s biggest cargo port, with strikes expected to last eight days as strike fever continues across the country with workers across many sectors demanding pay rises to tackle record inflation.

After three days of action on transport, mainly trains, it was today the turn of the workers at the port of Felixstowe to strike.

This is the first strike to take place at this port in the east of England, which receives around 4 million containers a year, since 1989.

Around 1,900 members of the Unite trade union, which includes crane operators, machine operators and dock workers, are walking off the job demanding a pay rise as the cost of living in Britain has grown exponentially.

Inflation reached 10.1% year-on-year in July and may exceed 13% in October, the highest rate recorded in a G7 country.

“The Port of Felixstowe is very profitable. According to the latest figures, in 2020 it had profits of £61m (almost €72m),” said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite.

“The management company of Hutchinson Ports is so rich that in the same year it distributed £99m to its shareholders. It can therefore give the workers in Felixstowe a proper pay rise,” he added.

For its part, the company said it was “disappointed that Unite did not accept our proposal to suspend the strike and come to the negotiating table to have constructive talks to find a solution”.

Hutchinson Ports noted that it had proposed a pay rise of 8% on average and almost 10% for the lowest paid, which it called “fair”.

The company “regrets the impact the protests will have on UK supply chains” and added that it is working with its customers to “limit disruption”.

A img from the port however pointed out that the strikes will be something “annoying, but not catastrophic”, as the supply chain is used to problems after the covid-19 pandemic.