Fears have been raised Brits could see empty shelves in the coming days as nearly 2,000 workers at the UK’s biggest container port started their strike action.
The Unite workers at Felixstowe, including crane drivers and stevedores, have walked out for eight days in a dispute over pay - the port’s first industrial action since 1989.
Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port, with nearly half of the country’s containers arriving in Suffolk.
Unite claims the strikes will potentially have a “huge effect on the UK’s supply chain and will also cause severe disruption to international maritime trade.”
General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Both Felixstowe docks and its parent company CK Hutchison Holding Ltd are both massively profitable and incredibly wealthy.
“They are fully able to pay the workforce a fair day’s pay.
“The company has prioritised 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.
“Felixstowe Docks and its associated companies have been prioritising profits and dividends instead of giving their workers a decent share of the pie .
“Instead the company is syphoning off tens of millions of pounds offshore to its Hong Kong-based parent company, almost every year.
“So Hong Kong shareholders are getting a bonanza pay-out while the company weeps ‘crocodile tears’ claiming that they can’t pay a decent pay rise here and essentially asking workers to accept a pay cut .'
“The workers at Felixstowe have UNITE's full backing until this dispute is resolved.”
Despite the claims a port source said the strikes will be a mere inconvenience as disruption is a part of life now, following the pandemic, reports the Metro.
Unite national office for docks Bobby Morton dismissed the claim, insisting: “Strike action will cause huge disruption and will generate massive shockwaves throughout the UK’s supply chain, but this dispute is entirely of the company’s own making.
“It has had every opportunity to make our members a fair offer but has chosen not to do so.
“Felixstowe needs to stop prevaricating and make a pay offer which meets our members’ expectations.”
The Port of Felixstowe said in a statement: “The company is disappointed that Unite has not taken up our offer to call off the strike and come to the table for constructive discussions to find a resolution.
“We recognise these are difficult times but, in a slowing economy, we believe that the company’s offer, worth over 8% on average in the current year and closer to 10% for lower paid workers, is fair.
“Unite has failed our employees by not consulting them on the offer and, as a result, they have been put in a position where they will lose pay by going on strike.
“The port regrets the impact this action will have on UK supply chains. We are grateful for the support we have had from our customers and are working with them to mitigate disruption.”
