Eight-day strike planned at Britain’s largest container port

The union said on Friday that more than 1,900 of the 2,500 dockers who pulled out from August 21-29. So they are asking for a seven percent wage increase. The union stressed that this kept them below the ever-increasing rate of inflation.

The strike threatens to paralyze many goods in the UK. But the union emphasized that there would also be an impact on international maritime trade. After all, almost half of the containers arriving in Great Britain are handled at Felixstowe.

Port operator Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company said it understood “employees’ concerns as the cost of living increases”. The company’s management is “actively looking for a one-size-fits-all solution” in order to prevent a strike. The administration added that “the port has not witnessed a strike since 1989 and we are disappointed that the union issued an announcement while the talks were continuing.”

With inflation rising, the number of strikes in the UK is increasing, including at rail, post office and telecom company BT. On Thursday, the Bank of England predicted that the inflation rate would rise to 13 percent by October, the highest level since 1980. And in June it was already 9.4 percent.