Workers at the UK’s biggest container port have launched what they say is an eight-day strike, becoming the latest workers in the country to take action to demand higher wages amid rising inflation and the rising cost of living. Almost 2,000 workers at the port of Felixstowe, which handles around four million containers a year from 2,000 ships representing more than half of the country’s inbound shipping, walked off the job on Sunday. The dispute has raised fears of supply chain problems and comes as the transport sector has already been hit by work stoppages, with only one in five trains running in the UK on Saturday amid rail strike action. “The strike will be hugely disruptive and a huge shock across the UK supply chain, but this dispute is entirely business-owned,” said Bobby Morton, the national docks officer at Unite, which represents the striking workers Felixstowe. he told Reuters news agency. “The [the company] he had every chance [to] We make our members a fair offer, but he chose not to.” For its part, the Port of Felixstowe, which is owned by CK Hutchison Holding Ltd, said in a statement that it was “disappointed” that the strike had gone ahead and called its offer of average 8% pay rises “fair”. “The port provides safe and well-paid employment and there will be no winners from this unnecessary industrial action,” he added. Inflation in the UK hit a 40-year high last month, topping 10 percent amid soaring food and energy prices due in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24. The Bank of England has predicted that it will exceed 13% this year, sending the British economy into a long recession. Reporting from Felixstowe, Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett said: “Workers are struggling, like so many across the UK, with this rampant rise in the cost of living both in terms of goods inflation and truly terrifying increases in the cost of powering people’s homes.’ However, he added, the strike could worsen an already precarious situation. Shipping group Maersk, one of the world’s largest container carriers, has warned that the action will have a significant impact, causing operational delays and forcing it to make changes to its fleet. “This is a hugely important port, especially in terms of textiles, but also all kinds of products that are imported through here,” Fawcett said. “So there are businesses and there are consumers across the UK who are already struggling. And such actions, of course, will make these supply chains even more vulnerable and could be a factor in increasing inflation in the future.”
