The port of Felixstowe says it has received notice from the Unite trade union of a second eight-day strike later this month in a dispute over pay. More than 1,900 workers at Felixstowe, the country’s biggest container port, walked out last month in the first strike to hit the port since 1989.
On a visit to the picket line in August, Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham warned that industrial action would be escalated if their request for a 10% increase in wages was not met. In a statement on its website, the port of Felixstowe said it had received notice from Unite of further strike action from September 27 to October 5.
“We are very disappointed that Unite has announced this further strike action at this time,” the statement said. “The collective bargaining process has been exhausted and there is no prospect of agreement being reached with the union.
“The port is in the process of implementing the 2022 pay award of 7% plus £500 which is backdated to 1 January 2022.”
The strike action will coincide with a two-week walkout by workers at the port of Liverpool, from September 19 to October 3, in a row over pay. Simon Geale, of supply chain specialists Proxima, has previously warned that if the dispute at Felixstowe continued into September it could cause “serious disruption”.
“The retailers in particular will be keeping an eye on this because the closer we get and the more we move into September, that’s when they start unloading for Christmas,” he said.
