In the latest round of industrial action affecting various sectors of the economy, nearly 2,000 workers walked out of their jobs at the UK’s largest container port on the first day of an eight-day workers strike.
The strike at Felixstowe port on the east coast caps a week of strikes by thousands of transport workers over pay as the cost of living crisis bites.
Following a more than nine-one vote in favour, approximately 1,900 Unite members, including crane drivers, machine operators, and stevedores, will participate in the first strike to disrupt the port since 1989.
The union has warned that the strike at the port, which handles nearly half of all container freight entering the country, will have a significant impact on UK supply chains, logistics, and haulage sectors.
However, a port source downplayed the warning, claiming that the strikes would be an “inconvenience rather than a catastrophe.
