Tone-deaf conga-dancing dockworkers sang up to Britain’s popular party song, Sweet Caroline, while launching an eight-day strike at the Port of Felixstowe in protest of lower pay, ‘playing chicken’ with the holiday plans of millions of people.
By inciting some 1,900 Unite members to strike, militant unions want to destroy the UK supply chain and stop an estimated £700 million worth of commerce.
There are worries that the widespread walkouts, which coincide with rising inflation of 10% and worries that it may reach 18% next year, may create shipping havoc at Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port, and result in shortages in stores and supermarkets during Christmas.
However, analysts have cautioned that shortages may boost the cost of commodities and petrol, perhaps driving it over the sky by the winter as Britons see the worst drop in living standards in 60 years.
On Monday, August 29, the strike will come to a conclusion. It started yesterday. Delays in importing components and exporting products are also anticipated to have an impact on manufacturers including Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, and JCB.
Maersk, one of the biggest container shipping companies in the world, has already redirected three ships to alternate ports in Europe as a consequence of the strike, and concerns are increasing that Britain may lose out on further shipments to the Continent.
The company is keeping an eye on an additional 11 vessels that may be impacted by the attacks. However, a port source said that since the supply system had been used to interruption during the epidemic, the strikes would just be “an annoyance, not a disaster.”
It is the most recent instance of industrial action to affect an increasing number of economic sectors, as rail workers strike and teachers and NHS employees threaten mass walkouts in the event that they are not granted higher pay amid the cost of living crisis. Boris Johnson’s government is concerned that such a demand could lead to a spiralling wage-inflation rate that would further harm households.
It happened as Unite official Robert Morton warned that if his members’ salary demands are not satisfied, “there would be future strikes” and that the “supply chain will be seriously impacted” by the eight-day walkout.
On Monday, the second day of the port’s strike, Mr. Morton said that Unite wants a higher wage offer that is at least in pace with inflation, citing a range of “7% to 12.3%.”
The Port of Felixstowe’s director of corporate relations, Paul Davey, emphasised that a “7% plus £500” offer is now on the table and asked Unite to let its members vote on it.
According to Mr. Morton, if the Port of Felixstowe meets with them for “real-time discussions,” the disagreement “may be ended” today even if he acknowledges that the supply system would be “severely affected.”
I acknowledge that the supply chain will be badly impacted, he added. One of the unpleasant aspects of situations like this is that.
If the employer consented to meet with us for in-person discussions, it may be finished this afternoon.
The final thing they [the Port of Felixstowe] said to us was, “Yes, we’ll meet you, but no, we won’t budge an inch from where we are.” That strategy is incorrect.
However, he continued: “At the outset of the discussions we asked them what they wanted and they responded, “We want you to go and negotiate and come back with at least the rate of inflation.” He confessed that the union has not presented the employer’s offer to its members. Don’t bring it back if it is any less than that.
So, as the discussions go further, “we could make them an offer, but it won’t be at 7%,”
Following a vote in favour of strikes by a margin of more than 9-1, workers, including crane drivers, machine operators, and stevedores, are taking action.
The port, which receives around four million containers annually from 2,000 ships, would be significantly impacted by the strike, according to the union.
However, a port source had earlier predicted that the strikes would only be a minor inconvenience since the supply chain had been used to disruptions as a result of the epidemic.
We have been asking for a minimum of the inflation rate, Mr. Morton said. RPI now stands at 12.3%.
To my membership’s satisfaction, however, there will be a number between 7% and 12.3% if we can get down and work this out.
However, Mr. Davey told Sky News that the conversations have been ongoing for some time.
“5% + £500 was the offer that was on the table when they decided to strike. Now it is 7% plus £500.
‘Throughout the course of the conversations, we have made significant progress.
“Unite” demanded 10% at the beginning and 10% at the conclusion of the discussions.
“Only one side here has made an effort to reach a compromise.”
“What I recommend (Unite) do is question their members about this,” he said.
“This component of Unite represents members who have not had an opportunity to vote on the contract.”
The effects of an eight-day strike at the Port of Felixstowe, include “Empty shelves at Christmas.”
Due to the eight-day strike, boats may be redirected to other ports in the UK or Europe as Felixstowe handles approximately half of the containerized freight entering the nation.
The port, which is the biggest in the UK, enjoys favour because of its closeness to the major shipping channels in Europe. It runs 17 shipping lanes and handles more than four million containers annually.
However, The Times predicts that strike action would likely cause £700 million in commerce to be disrupted and will directly affect companies including Asda, John Lewis, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer.
Delays in importing components and exporting products are also anticipated to have an impact on manufacturers including Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, and JCB.
One of the biggest container shipping companies in the world, Maersk, has already moved three ships to different ports in Europe as a consequence of the strike.
According to the port source who minimised the strikes’ effects, the supply chain is now used to disruptions as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Disruption has become the new norm. They said that the supply chain had changed from being “just in time” to “just in case.”
The industries most at danger include reportedly apparel and electronics, with warnings of a “economic ripple effect.”
Despite the Port of Felixstowe claiming to have given employees an average 8% wage increase, with those on lower earnings receiving over 10% more, union members chose to strike.
The 1,900 workers were allegedly not consulted by Unite before being offered a salary settlement, according to management, who claimed they were instead balloted on the first strike to affect the port since 1989.
Unite asserts that the port’s owner, who had a profit of £61 million in 2020, can afford to pay more than the 7% wage raise it is now providing, and that the strike would significantly affect daily operations.
The conflict is completely the company’s fault, Mr. Morton of Unite previously told the BBC, adding that “Strike action would create tremendous disruption… across the UK’s supply chain.”
Blame [operator] Hutchison Ports for the steps they took to make [this salary increase] possible.
The union responded by claiming that the Port of Felixstowe was “disappointed” that it “had not taken up our invitation” to return to the negotiating table.
We acknowledge that these are trying times, but given the weakening economy, we think the company’s offer—worth over 8% on average this year and closer to 10% for lower-paid employees—is reasonable.
“Unite has failed our workers by not including them in the decision-making process on the offer, and as a result, they have been placed in a situation where they would lose salary by going on strike.”
The port regrets the effect that this decision will have on the supply chains in the UK. The plan, according to Unite, which mostly represents dock workers, is far below the current inflation rate and follows a rise that was below inflation last year.
Nearly half of the country’s containerized freight enters via Felixstowe, thus the action may require boats to detour.
It has set up a backup plan for this week, but there are worries that this is only the beginning.
For as long as it takes, I will remain at our members’ sides at all times, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.
The militant leader sent out a string of combative tweets after organising over 450 strikes that cost companies £150 million in only one year.
The docks, according to her, “can afford to grant a good salary boost, and Unite will support employees,” she claimed.
It follows a demand for a nationwide strike by RMT hardliner Mick Lynch if Liz Truss is elected prime minister and introduces laws to end strikes that impact the whole nation.
If the Foreign Secretary wins the Tory leadership race, she has vowed to make sure that trade union “militant action” can no longer “paralyse” the economy.
However, Mr. Lynch told the I daily that if legislation is introduced, “organised and synchronised industrial action” will be required.
He continued by warning that the “extremely perilous scenario” might send the nation back to “Victorian ages.”
A general strike occurs when a “significant percentage” of employees across several industries refuse to report to work until their demands, which often centre on salary and working conditions, are satisfied. A general strike may only be declared by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).