Workers at the UK’s largest container port may go on strike

Workers at the UK’s largest container port will strike for more than a week in August over a dispute over their pay. With nearly half of the country’s container traffic passing through Felixstowe, the federation said the measure will affect supply chains, the logistics, shipping and international maritime trade sectors. Felixstowe welcomes approximately 2,000 ships annually, including the largest container ships in the world. The port operates 17 shipping companies connected to more than 700 ports in the world, Sky News reports.

Over 1,900 union members will strike in Flexstowe between August 21 and August 29. Workers are complaining that the employer continues to offer only a 7 per cent raise, plus they only received a 1.4 per cent pay rise last year.

The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said the port of Felixstowe and its parent company, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, were “incredibly profitable and incredibly wealthy” and thus “could easily have paid their workers a decent wage rather than paying millions of pounds in dividends.”

A spokeswoman for the port told Sky News that they were still looking for a solution that satisfies both parties and are trying to avoid a strike.

“We understand the concerns of our employees about the rising cost of living. We are doing everything we can, but we still consider the successful operation of the port the most important thing.”

The port has not seen a strike since 1989, and further negotiations will take place on Monday.