Fresh strike for workers at UK’s largest container port

Around 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe will walk out.

The Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Workers at the UK’s largest container port will stage a fresh strike from Tuesday in a long-running dispute over pay.

Around 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe will walk out at 7am until October 5 following an eight-day stoppage last month.

Unite said the port’s owners had imposed a 7% pay increase on the workforce, which it described as a real-terms pay cut because of the soaring inflation rate.

Aerial view of the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a tremendously wealthy company which can fully afford to pay its workers a fair pay increase but has chosen not to in order to boost their already huge profits.

“Unite is now entirely focused on promoting and defending the jobs, pay and conditions of its members.

“The Felixstowe dock workers are receiving the union’s unflinching support.”

A port spokesperson said: “The port is in the process of implementing a very fair pay increase of 7% plus £500.

“The pay award is effective from January 1 when CPI inflation was 5.4%.

“One branch of Unite at the port has already put the same pay offer to their members who voted to accept it. The next pay rise is dueJanuary 1 2023 and we will discuss that with Unite in the normal way.”