Workers at UK's biggest container port to strike for eight days in dispute over pay

Around 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe will walk out in the first strike to hit the port since 1989. Credit: ITV Anglia

Workers at the UK's biggest container port will launch an eight-day strike on Sunday in a dispute over pay.

Around 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe will walk out in the first strike to hit the port since 1989.

It's the latest outbreak of industrial action to hit a growing number of sectors of the economy.

Staff including crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores are taking action after voting by more than 9-1 in favour of strikes.

The union says the stoppage will have a big impact on the port, which handles around four million containers a year from 2,000 ships.

The port handles around four million containers a year from 2,000 ships. Credit: ITV Anglia

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."

A port source said the strikes will be an "inconvenience not a catastrophe", claiming that the supply chain was now used to disruption following the pandemic.

Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, said: "Felixstowe docks is enormously profitable. The latest figures show that in 2020 it made £61 million in profits.

"Its parent company, CK Hutchison Holding Ltd, is so wealthy that, in the same year, it handed out £99 million to its shareholders.

"So they can give Felixstowe workers a decent pay raise. It's clear both companies have prioritised delivering multimillion-pound profits and dividends rather than paying their 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 handles nearly half of the containerised freight entering the country and the action could mean vessels have to be diverted to ports elsewhere in the UK or Europe.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...