Union members at the Port of Liverpool in western England voted to strike for a pay increase in the first of two votes. The expected strike comes as the shipping industry prepares for a strike at Felixstowe by the same union, which is scheduled to run all next week.
Officials predict that the latest in a wave of strikes passing through the United Kingdom will put additional strain on the supply chain, disrupting shipping patterns in key European ports.
The trade union Unite announced the results of a strike vote held among more than 500 of its members working in the Liverpool port, stating that the members supported a labour action over an “inadequate 7% pay offer.” They reported that 88% of members voted, with 99% voting in favour of a strike.
A date for the industrial action has not yet been determined, according to Unite, which characterised the 7% offer as a pay cut in real terms. The strikes are the most recent in a string of walkouts by unions across Merseyside this year, with bus drivers from Arriva and RMT members from Merseyrail leaving their jobs in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
Unite national coordinator Steven Gerrard stated, “MDHC is solely responsible for the Liverpool container docks coming to a halt.” Our members are struggling with rising living expenses, yet MDHC, which is flush with cash, makes a grossly inadequate proposal. It must return with a proposal that meets the needs of our members.”
According to Richard Mitchell, Port Director of Liverpool Containers at Peel Ports Group, the 7% offer is on top of a 4.5% increase last year and includes other improvements to shifts, sick pay, and pensions, which complements a decade of industry-leading pay awards.
He added that over the last year Port of Liverpool has hired an additional 150 workers, heavily invested in staff training and that the port’s workers earn 20% more than Liverpool City’s average salary.
“We urge Unite the Union to continue talking with us so that we can find a solution to avoid strike action that will be bad news for the sector, businesses, and families for many months to come, at a time when container volume demand has begun to fall.”
In the face of high inflation, Unite and other unions across the UK have moved aggressively to win higher pay increases. Rail workers and others have all gone on strike, demanding that companies provide what they call fair pay, based on corporations’ rising profits over the last two years and now the UK’s soaring cost of living.
Unite announced earlier today that it had won a new package for British Airways employees that amounts to a 13% increase as a lump sum payment and a two-stage wage increase.
The same union rejected a 7% wage increase and a lump sum payment proposed by the Port of Felixstowe. They, like Liverpool, rejected the offer and refused to continue talks after mediation efforts failed a week ago. Unite has called an 8-day strike for August 21 at Felixstowe.
