Warning that Felixstowe Port strikes will 'seriously mess up' Christmas shopping as hundreds walk out
22 August 2022, 10:02
There could be "serious disruption" to Christmas shopping as 2,000 workers begin an eight-day strike at UK’s largest container port in Felixstowe.
Port workers with Unite union began a strike on Sunday morning, after rejecting a pay offer.
The port handles almost half of the UK's container shipping.
James Hookham, general secretary of trade group Global Shippers Forum warned on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: “There’s stuff [goods] on the way, it’s expecting to be here over the next five to six weeks, so if this is a prolonged stoppage there could be some serious disruption to expected delivery times.
“A lot of importers are expecting to start receiving the goods they sell not just at Christmas, but Halloween and half term, and that’s a big peak - as of course is now, Black Friday.”
“We can’t have a long strike here – this would really seriously mess up Christmas for everyone.”
Around 1900 workers at the Port of Felixstowe have walked out after rejecting a 7% pay rise offer from the Port’s owners, Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company.
Much of the global economy uses the ‘just in time supply chain’, where goods arrive just before they are needed, instead of being stockpiled in warehouses.
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Mr Hookham explained how the shipping industry would try to work around the disruption.
“A lot of this stuff will have left countries where it was made – particularly in the far East and China – five or six weeks ago, so it’s a bit late to start trying to reschedule it.
“If they [container ships] can’t berth at UK ports they’ll just keep going.
“They’ll just go straight into Rotterdam or Antwerp and offload the UK containers there, and [UK firms will] either fetch them back over the North Sea on smaller ships.
“Or possibly even try – if they’re needed really urgently – to truck them back in through the Channel Tunnel or on the ferries.”
The strike is the latest industrial action to take place as inflation in the UK hits a 40 year high, rising above 10% in July. As well as retailers, haulage companies are concerned about the impact of the strike.
One haulage company told the BBC that were containers to be diverted to other ports, such as Southampton, the additional fuel and driver costs would have to be passed onto their customers.
Talks between union leaders and the Port’s managers to try and end the strike are ongoing.
