The strike for wages since August 21 of nearly 2,000 workers at the port of Felixstowe has not reached the desired agreement with CK Hutchison – the port owner based in Hong Kong. Members of Unite the Union (the union of Great Britain and Ireland) voted overwhelmingly in favor of strike action at the end of July.
The strike of workers on the morning of August 21 to August 28 at the port of Felixstowe caused the port to be delayed (cre: International Source).
Sharon Graham, Secretary-General of the British Union of Trade Unions and legal representative in the dispute, pointed out that the strike could continue until the end of the year if Felixstowe Dock, along with the state-owned railway company, Port operator owned by Hutchison Ports UK Ltd did not improve their offer.
United have offered the same rate of inflation in the UK – currently above 10%, however, the Felixstowe port authority has only accepted a pay rise of 7% and a payment of £500 (about €600). or US$600).
SCALA logistics consultant and supply chain executive director Phil Reuben pointed out that by the time the strike was announced, shipments from China and Asian ports for imports to the UK had already departed.
He noted, “When the decision to strike was made, ships scheduled to arrive in Felixstowe in the past few days had departed from China, meaning that some importers would not have had the warning to act in time to act. , and may not have changed routes in time”.
“UK companies affected by this latest strike action are another indicator that supply chain resilience is now more important than ever for business continuity in the UK. context of continuous disruption.”
Since the first strike took place at the port of Felixstowe in 1989, it has continued to delay ships and adversely affect the supply chain. According to a report by global information technology company IQAX, so far 18 ships have been on strike and it will take up to 2 months to resolve the backlog, according to CNBC of the US.
This strike has also had a wide-ranging impact, impacting logistics activities inside and outside the UK, typically the Danish container shipping company Maersk. “Our contingency measures are in place to deal with the situations at Felixstowe, including changing our fleet to maximize the available workforce in the event of a call,” said Mr Maersk. The strike ends immediately.”
The Copenhagen-headquartered added, “Once normal service resumes at the end of the strike period, we anticipate a very high level of carrier demand and therefore encourage customers to book early.”
(source synthesis: Container News; Phaata Logistics)
Report by Lucy 09/05/2022
