Workers at Felixstowe, the UK's biggest container port, will go on strike for more than a week later this month due to a pay dispute. More than 1,900 members of Unite union at Felixstowe will strike for eight days from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August.
The union said that employer Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company had failed to improve on its offer of a 7% pay increase, following only a 1.4% increase last year. Almost half of the UK's container traffic comes through Felixstowe and Unite said the action would hit supply chains, the logistics and haulage sectors, as well as international maritime trade.
It is the latest round of industrial action by workers pushing for pay to keep up with the cost of living.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said both Felixstowe docks and its parent company Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison are "massively profitable and incredibly wealthy", adding: "They are fully able to pay the workforce a fair day's pay. The company has prioritized delivering multi-million pound dividends rather than paying its 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."
Source: news.sky.com