{"id":46134,"date":"2022-07-28T13:09:21","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T13:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/07\/28\/felixstowe-strike-threat-at-uks-biggest-container-port\/"},"modified":"2022-07-28T13:09:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T13:09:21","slug":"felixstowe-strike-threat-at-uks-biggest-container-port","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/07\/28\/felixstowe-strike-threat-at-uks-biggest-container-port\/","title":{"rendered":"Felixstowe: Strike threat at UK’s biggest container port"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Workers have voted to strike at Britain’s busiest container port over pay disputes.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Unite union said 92% of its members at the Port of Felixstowe voted in favor of strikes and turnout was 81%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company was said to be offering a 5% pay rise, which is effectively a pay cut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Port spokesman Paul Davey said: “Both parties are still in talks and we hope to avoid industrial action.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said: “The company made a very fair offer in our opinion and we are disappointed with the outcome of the vote.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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%. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cLast year workers got a below-inflation pay rise of 1.4%.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: \u201cThe bottom line is this is an extremely wealthy company that can fully afford to give its employees a raise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unite Regional Officer Miles Hubbard said: \u201cA strike action in Felixstowe will inevitably lead to huge disruption throughout the UK supply chain.\u201d This dispute is Felixstowe’s doing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“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.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said Unite has about 1,900 members in the port, which is “virtually all of the manual labor staff”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Its members, he said, are “at the point where they’ve decided enough is enough.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“When around 1,800 port workers speak like that, you have to listen.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port, handling 48% of container trade, according to the union.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Find BBC News: East of England <\/i>Facebook, <\/i>Instagram and <\/i>Twitter<\/a>. If you have an email with a story suggestion <\/i>eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n