Strike at biggest shipping port adds to UK industrial chaos

The first day of a planned strike at Britain’s biggest container port started yesterday, joining a series of walkouts by transportation workers that have disrupted economic activity across the country.

Almost 2,000 workers at the Port of Felixstowe, located about 150 kilometers northeast of London, walked off the jobs over pay, raising fears of severe supply chain problems. The port handles around 4 million containers a year from 2,000 ships – almost half of the country’s incoming shipping freight.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the labor union that called for the strike, alleged the company that operates the “enormously profitable” dock and its parent company, C.K Hutchison Holding Ltd, prioritized shareholder profits over worker welfare.

“They can give Felixstowe workers a decent pay raise. It’s clear both companies have prioritized delivering multimillion-pound profits and dividends rather than paying their workers a decent wage,” she said.

The Port of Felixstowe said in a statement that it regretted the impact the strikes would have on U.K supply chains. It said workers were offered a pay raise “worth over 8% on average in the current year.”