Around 2,000 dock workers on eight day strike in UK's largest container port

London, Aug 22: Nearly 2,000 dock workers started an eight-day strike in the largest container port of UK ; Felixstowe, on Sunday (Aug 21) demanding higher wages amid record inflation in the country.

 

 

 

 

Around 1,900 members of the British trade union Unite, including crane operators, mechanics and loaders, are participating in the first protest, according to the Sky News broadcaster. The strike is expected to result in severe disruptions in the logistics of sea and road transport, the union was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, it has also been reported in media that the protest would be an "inconvenience not a catastrophe," given that supply chains have gotten used to disruptions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

 

 

 

The UK has been facing a wave of strikes in recent months due to record inflation. Railway and airport employees, lawyers, postmen and workers in other areas have been protesting against job cuts, low pay while also demanding the improvement of working conditions. On Aug 4, the Bank of England raised its interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.75 per cent from 1.25 per cent per annum, the largest single increase since 1995. Now the rate is at its highest level since Dec 2008, when it was 2 per cent.

 

According to the bank's forecasts, the British economy will fall into recession in the fourth quarter of 2022. On Wednesday, the UK Office for National Statistics said that annual inflation in the country had risen to a new 40-year high of 10,1 per cent in July from 9.4 per cent in June.