General

More than 1,900 workers at the Port of Felixstowe, Britain's largest container port, are planning an eight-day strike later this month over wages dissatisfaction.

The United Union has warned that the strike, which is scheduled to start on August 21, will have an impact on the region's international seaborne trade, in addition to its impact on the region's logistics and transport sectors.

The union said the strike would cause massive damage because many of the striking workers were crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores. Port operations are expected to come to a close.

Workers at the UK's largest container port, Felixstowe, will go on strike for eight days after rejecting a 7% pay rise.

United union members announced on Friday that they would strike on August 21, citing a 7 per cent pay rise proposed by Felixstowe Docks and Rail that was "significantly lower" than inflation.

The port of Felixstowe in eastern England handles around 4 million containers a year, almost half of the UK's container trade, thanks to its proximity to European ports such as Le Havre in France and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The strike is expected to affect 40% of UK container imports.

United union secretary Sharon Graham said: "Felixstowe Wharf and its parent company, CK Hutchison Industries Ltd., are very profitable and very wealthy. They are well-positioned to pay their employees a fair and reasonable daily wage."

The United union said it would threaten supply chains if final negotiations with employers failed. Mediation service Acas will hold further talks on Monday.

"This strike action by the union will disrupt the delivery of vital supplies and goods, and we urge unions and the port to stay at the negotiating table and reach a settlement," a Department of Transportation spokesman said.

This isn't the first outage at the port. Last fall, a shortage of lorry drivers and a backlog of containers caused some Christmas gifts and food shortages.

There have been no strikes at the Port of Felixstowe since 1989, and there are fears that strikes could stress the supply chain and leave shelves empty.

United Union secretary Bobby Morton said: "The strike action will cause huge disruption and will have a huge impact on supply chains across the UK, but this dispute is entirely of the company's own making."

Port Felixstowe said in a statement that the company continues to actively seek solutions that are effective for all parties and avoid labor strikes. The port has not had a strike since 1989.