LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – More than 1,900 workers at Britain’s biggest container port will begin an eight-day strike on Sunday, another episode in a series of social unrest that has rocked Britain since the start of the summer. .
Employees at the port of Felixstowe, located in the east of England, are demanding higher wages to cope with the rising cost of living.
“This strike will cause serious disruption and send a shock wave through the UK supply chain, but this conflict stems solely from the attitude of the company,” said Bobby Morton, a representative of the Unity union.
“(The company) could have made a fair offer to our members, but they chose to do otherwise,” he said.
Port operator Hutchison Ports said on Friday that its proposal to raise wages by 7% and pay a one-time bonus of 500 pounds (589 euros) was fair.
The operator had indicated that the port workers’ union – which represents around 500 employees occupying posts of supervisors, engineers or working in the administration – had accepted this offer.
Unite, which primarily represents dockworkers, said the supply was significantly lower than the current rate of inflation.
“The port regrets the impact this action will have on UK supply chains,” a Hutchison Ports spokesman said.
The operator said that an emergency plan would be put in place and that it would try to minimize disruption during the strike, which will last until August 29.
A jump in inflation – which reached 10.1% year on year in July – and uneven pay rises have heightened union tensions in Britain in sectors such as the postal services, health, schools, airports and the judicial system. (Report Michael Holden; French version Camille Raynaud)