Supply chain experts have warned shoppers may not be able to get the Christmas goods they want if disruption at the Port of Felixstowe continues into next month. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite trade union, said that the eight-day strike which began on Sunday will escalate if workers are not given an improved pay offer.
Almost 2,000 dockers have walked out in a dispute over pay at the Suffolk port. Simon Geale, of supply chain specialists Proxima, said the Port of Felixstowe has around 40% of the UK’s capacity and is “pretty critical”.
He said that while the eight-day strike would “snarl the system up a little bit more… it’s not going to be a fatal blow”. But he said retailers will be monitoring the situation, as unloading for Christmas starts around September and, if the dispute continues into next month, it could case “serious disruption”.
