Paula Mitchell
Nearly 2,000 dock workers at Felixstowe have already flexed their muscles in an eight-day strike in August, over a pay offer from their super-rich bosses which is in reality a pay cut. Now, the management of Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company has announced that it will impose 7% on the workers. With RPI inflation over 12%, this is a pay cut of more than 5%.
In a survey of Unite members, 82% voted to reject this insult. Another eight-day strike has been announced, from 27 September to 5 October.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, describes the owners of the dock as “eye-wateringly wealthy”. The company is owned by the multinational port operator CK Hutchison, which is registered in the Cayman Islands. The dock company made record profits of £79 million in 2021.
The August strike brought 48% of UK freight imports to a standstill – starkly demonstrating that it is workers who make the bosses these riches.
Over 560 Liverpool dock workers are due to strike for two weeks against billionaire port operator MDHC, over another 7% pay offer.
New Tory prime minister Liz Truss is a fan of ‘freeports’ – where money-grubbing bosses can more easily increase their wealth through lower regulation. Freeports are planned for Felixstowe/Harwich, Tilbury, Liverpool, Teesside, Humberside, Solent and Plymouth. The Felixstowe dock strikes are demonstrating the potential power of organised workers in the ports and the best way to fight for decent jobs, pay and safety. The ports should be nationalised, as part of a publicly owned, sustainable, integrated transport system, under workers’ control and management.
