Workers at the Port of Felixstowe, Britain's largest container port, are overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, one of the UK's largest unions, the Unite union, said on Thursday, warning of severe supply chain disruptions.
Dockworkers have joined workers in a range of industries, from railroads to telecommunications, who have taken strike action as pay rises have failed to keep pace with inflation. Tens of thousands of rail workers went on strike on Wednesday, paralyzing the UK rail network; Lufthansa cancelled thousands of flights due to ground crew strikes; and last week, hundreds of dockworkers at the Port of Liverpool said they would vote on the strike.
In response to the strike, the Unite union said in a statement: “The strike action will bring the Port of Felixstowe to a standstill and will cause significant logistical problems for seaborne and road transport entering the port.” Unite regional officer Miles Hubbard said. The strike action would "inevitably cause massive disruption to the UK's supply chain".
Nearly half of the UK's container trade is handled through the Port of Felixstowe, with around 4 million TEUs passing through its busy terminals last year.
There are concerns that any strikes could push up transport costs, further fuelling inflation. Simon Geale, executive vice-president of logistics strategy firm Proxima, said: "The news of a possible strike at the Port of Felixstowe will put some UK businesses in limbo. Our main concern is delays, which will mean ongoing pricing impacts."
The dispute arose after Felixstowe Docks and Rail offered workers a 5 per cent pay rise. With inflation in the UK at 9.4% in June, the Unite union called the proposed 5% pay rise an "effective pay cut".
"The company made an offer that we believe is very fair and we are disappointed by the vote. Hopefully any strike action can be avoided," a port spokesman said, adding that the union had agreed to meet with mediation service ACAS next week. request.
It is reported that the union did not give a specific date for the strike, which is likely to take place next month.
A 24-hour nationwide rail strike in the UK on Wednesday shut down the rail network, with more strikes planned for August. Also on Wednesday, Lufthansa was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights due to a ground crew strike. Strike action in different transport sectors has also been announced in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Malta.
"We expect a very hot summer for transport across Europe," Livia Spera, secretary-general of the European Transport Workers' Federation, wrote in a recent letter to EU transport ministers.
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