Strikes crippling Britain’s largest container port will continue indefinitely unless employers “see sense” on pay rises, a union boss has warned.
Members of Unite who work at the Port of Felixstowe are on day three of eight days of planned industrial action in their pay dispute.
About 1,900 workers including crane drivers and machine operators have rejected a seven per cent pay rise plus £500 bonus because it is below the rate of inflation at a time when the owners are making bumper profits.
Supply chains are being severely disrupted by the walkouts, but Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned there will be more unless their demands are met.
“The only option workers have is to withdraw their labour,” she told LBC. “And of course, what you hope is that when that happens employers see sense and they come back to the table. But if they don’t do that of course the strike continues. And that obviously causes disruption.”
A Port of Felixstowe spokesman said the company was “disappointed” by the industrial action and the pay offer was worth close to 10 per cent for the
lowest-paid. It comes as the country faces a wave of industrial action across several sectors.
Barristers today reacted angrily after Justice Secretary Dominic Raab accused them of “holding justice to ransom” with strike action. Members of the Criminal Bar Association have been carrying out industrial action since April and have now backed a plan to walk out “on an indefinite basis” from September 5.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Raab called the action “needless and indefensible”, suggesting barristers who go on strike are “causing untold anguish for victims”. He faced a furious backlash from the legal community who said there had been years of underfunding from the Government.
“Government sold 260 courts then restricted days judges sit to save money on courts and legal aid”, said defence barrister Nick Barraclough. “And cut legal aid rates by 40 per cent. Then required barristers to do a lot of work for no pay. Then refused to implement recommendations of its own review. And Raab is furious with barristers. ” Fellow barrister Imran Mahmood added: “He doesn’t care about justice. It’s a sound-bite.” Mr Raab, who is currently on holiday, is accused of failing to meet with the Criminal Bar Association since industrial action started in April.
Criminal barristers are due to receive a 15 per cent fee rise from the end of September. Government minister Chloe Smith today urged them to “come back to work” as she denied cuts to legal aid had gone too far. “I would very much prefer to see the barristers at work so that victims can get their justice as quickly as possible,” she told LBC.
Members of the RMT were today holding a day of action at rail stations around the country in response to plans to close nearly 1,000 ticket offices. RMT leader Mick Lynch warned of further strikes like those which crippled the train network earlier this month unless bosses drop job loss plans and up pay offers.
Postal workers are also due to walk out over pay on August 26 and 31 as well as September 8 and 9.
