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Financial Associated Press, August 21 (Editor Liu Rui)From Sunday local time, the UK’s largest container port, Felixstowe) held an 8-day mass strike. Port unions and shipping companies have warned that the strike could severely impact trade and supply chains in the UK and around the world.
Mass strike at UK’s largest port
The Port of Felixstowe on the UK east coast is the UK’s largest and busiest container port and one of the largest in Europe. The port handles more than 4 million containers a year, accounting for nearly half of the country’s container trade.
The cause of the strike was a labor dispute among employees. The port has been asked by unions to raise wages for its members as the cost of living for workers has soared due to the recent high inflation in the UK.
More than 1,900 unionized workers, including crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores, will take part in the strike, according to local media.
“The strike action will cause massive disruption and will have a huge impact on the entire UK supply chain, but this dispute is entirely of company self-inflicted cause,” said United union official Bobby Morton. “( The Docks) would have had ample opportunity to offer fair wages to our union members, but it chose not to.”
The current round of port strikes will continue until August 29, and the port authority said it will develop contingency plans and strive to minimize disruption during the strike.
This strike means that cargo ships that were originally unloaded through the port must be diverted to ports in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.ALPS Marine, part of the Russell Group, a data and analytics firm, had previously forecast that the strike at the port of Felixstowe could cause more than $800 million in trade disruptions.
Shipping group Maersk, one of the world‘s largest container carriers, has warned the move will have a major impact, causing operational delays and forcing it to change its fleet line-up.
High inflation in the UK could lead to more strikes
The source of the strike is the soaring inflation in the UK.
Felixstowe port operator Hutchison Ports was previously unhappy with a proposal to the union for a pay rise of up to 7 per cent, saying the increase was well below the current rate of inflation.
According to the latest data released by the UK Bureau of Statistics, the UK CPI in July increased by 10.1% year-on-year, the highest level since February 1982. Some economists predict CPI will hit 15% in the first quarter of next year as energy and food prices surge.
Britain’s rail and bus companies have seen workers strike before as prices soar and household living costs soar. Workers from other industries in the UK – including lawyers, teachers, nurses, firefighters, cleaners, airport workers and others – are also reportedly planning to strike.
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Responsible editor: Liu Xuanyi