Workers at the UK’s biggest container port will go on strike action for more than a week later this month in a dispute over pay, as confirmed by the trade union Unite.
Nearly 1,900 workers plan to stop work for eight days at the Hong-Kong owned port, starting from Sunday 21 August and ending Monday 29 August, according to the Union Unite. Officials from the port and trade union Unite were unable to reach an agreement in the latest round of talks after a majority of 92% of union’s members at the Port of Felixstowe voted in favour of industrial action.
Strike action is expected to have a huge impact on the UK’s supply chains, the logistics and haulage sectors, as well as international maritime trade. Majority of the workers undertake manual roles at the dock including machine operators, crane drivers and stevedores. More than 2,500 people work at the Port of Felixstowe, which is the biggest container port in the UK and the eight largest in Europe. More than 48% of UK’s container traffic is handled at the port of Felixstowe, which is equivalent to around 4 million 20-ft containers every year.
We will update this page as the situation develops.
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