Workers have voted to strike at Britain’s busiest container port over pay disputes.
The Unite union said 92% of its members at the Port of Felixstowe voted in favor of strikes and turnout was 81%.
The Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company was said to be offering a 5% pay rise, which is effectively a pay cut.
Port spokesman Paul Davey said: “Both parties are still in talks and we hope to avoid industrial action.”
He said: “The company made a very fair offer in our opinion and we are disappointed with the outcome of the vote.”
In a statement, Unite said: “The dispute is the result of the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company offering its workers a wage increase of just 5%. This is an effective wage cut at the current real (RPI) inflation rate of 11.9%.
“Last year workers got a below-inflation pay rise of 1.4%.”
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “The bottom line is this is an extremely wealthy company that can fully afford to give its employees a raise.
Unite Regional Officer Miles Hubbard said: “A strike action in Felixstowe will inevitably lead to huge disruption throughout the UK supply chain.” This dispute is Felixstowe’s doing.
“Strike dates have yet to be announced, but even at this late stage the dispute could be resolved if the company returns to negotiations and makes a realistic offer.”
He said Unite has about 1,900 members in the port, which is “virtually all of the manual labor staff”.
Its members, he said, are “at the point where they’ve decided enough is enough.”
“When around 1,800 port workers speak like that, you have to listen.”
The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port, handling 48% of container trade, according to the union.
Find BBC News: East of England Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have an email with a story suggestion eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
Add Comment