UK: Dockworkers at Britain's biggest freight port join strike against inflation
Containers at the port of Felixstowe, England's largest cargo port, on March 4, 2021. © BEN STANSALL/AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In the UK, inflation-linked strikes continue in transport, post and now dockworkers.
Employees are demanding wage increases in line with the price increase, which in July reached 10.1% over one year across the Channel.
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With our correspondent in London,
Sidonie Gaucher
After
the railway
and postal workers, it is the dockers who go on strike.
The port of Felixstowe in the east of England is starting an eight-day strike.
This means that 30,000 to 40,000 containers will have to find an alternative.
With 35% of flows, Felixstowe is the largest port in the country for the transport of goods.
It is 50% of trade on the high seas that is affected, with ships redirected or parked outside the port.
A “
summer of logistical discontent
”
Cargo unloading for England could be done in Antwerp or Rotterdam, ports which also face congestion problems.
It's a "
summer of logistical discontent
," they say among carriers, "
that could turn into Armageddon
."
They explain that “
the maritime market is already in a disconcerting state and that strikes in the port of Liverpool are to be expected in September
”.
The Allseas Shipping company believes “
that a week's strike will not be rectified in a few days, and that the closure of the port will have consequences for several weeks, not to mention the chain reactions.
»
►Also read: The Bank of England criticized for its inertia in the face of inflation
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