Empty shelves threaten due to Felixstowe port strike

Empty shelves threaten due to Felixstowe port strike

Empty shelves threaten due to Felixstowe port strike

WAGE CONFLICT

The eight-day strike by dock workers in Felixstowe, which began on Sunday, could lead to empty shelves in the UK ‘until Christmas’ and further fuel inflation. That is what various British media say on the basis of experts, including Lars Jensen of the consultancy firm Vespucci Maritime. He expects deep-sea shipping companies to unload their containers destined for the United Kingdom in other European ports and then forward them to the United Kingdom on feeder and shortsea vessels.

A spokesperson for the UK-based Global Shippers Forum warns that further supply chain disruptions in the UK could further increase pressure on consumer prices. He pointed out that consumer prices have been on the rise since the middle of last year, partly as a result of the sharp rise in transport costs.

Strike

The approximately 1,800 workers of the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company (FDRC), as announced for two weeks, have ceased work on Sunday morning and plan to continue the strike through next Sunday. This makes it one of the worst industrial disputes in the UK in decades and the first port strike in more than thirty years.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has already threatened that it will not stop there if FDRC, an operating company of Hutchison Ports from Hong Kong, does not bend its knees. “I support members every step of the way, for as long as it takes,” she said. At stake is the demand for full compensation for UK inflation, which is currently around 11% on an annual basis

Empty shelves threaten due to Felixstowe port strike

WAGE CONFLICT

The eight-day strike by dock workers in Felixstowe, which began on Sunday, could lead to empty shelves in the UK ‘until Christmas’ and further fuel inflation. That is what various British media say on the basis of experts, including Lars Jensen of the consultancy firm Vespucci Maritime. He expects deep-sea shipping companies to unload their containers destined for the United Kingdom in other European ports and then forward them to the United Kingdom on feeder and shortsea vessels.

A spokesperson for the UK-based Global Shippers Forum warns that further supply chain disruptions in the UK could further increase pressure on consumer prices. He pointed out that consumer prices have been on the rise since the middle of last year, partly as a result of the sharp rise in transport costs.

Strike

The approximately 1,800 workers of the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company (FDRC), as announced for two weeks, have ceased work on Sunday morning and plan to continue the strike through next Sunday. This makes it one of the worst industrial disputes in the UK in decades and the first port strike in more than thirty years.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has already threatened that it will not stop there if FDRC, an operating company of Hutchison Ports from Hong Kong, does not bend its knees. “I support members every step of the way, for as long as it takes,” she said. At stake is the demand for full compensation for UK inflation, which is currently around 11% on an annual basis.