With Black Friday and Christmas approaching, another major port in the UK has announced a strike. The strike at this time may affect the unloading and delivery time of goods in the UK.
UK Port of Liverpool finalizes strike date
It is reported that Unite the Union has confirmed that more than 560 dock workers at the Port of Liverpool, the UK’s second largest container terminal, will go on strike from September 19 to October 3.
British container port operator Peel Group said the move was aimed at disrupting operations at the port and demanding higher pay rises after unions rejected a pay increase from 7% to 8.3%.
On the other hand, the union said that the 7% salary increase is actually a salary cut when the inflation rate RPI is 12.3%, not to mention that it is expected to reach 18% within the year.
The port, which generated profits of more than £30m last year, said it was “ridiculous” to propose a pay rise as the cost of food and other essentials is already well above the rate of inflation, but acknowledged the strike would cost the port. The industry is in huge trouble.
It is understood that the Port of Liverpool is the second largest container port in the UK after Felixstowe, handling more than 70 million tons of cargo every year.
A freight forwarder said: This is a long strike and given that we have quite a lot of cargo coming in and out, we will work hard to reach a solution. ”
The union warned that strike action would severely disrupt shipping and road transport in and around Liverpool, adding that more strikes would be scheduled in the coming weeks if MDHC failed to make an acceptable offer to workers.
A freight forwarder said: This is a long strike and given that we have quite a lot of cargo coming in and out, we will work hard to reach a solution. ”
In response, shipping company CMA CGM said: “The team is doing its best to develop suitable contingency plans to provide the most reliable service possible during the disruption. We are working hard to provide alternative solutions through other UK ports and will continue to provide Door to door service.”
High inflation triggers port strike
So why do strikes occur so frequently in the UK?
The Financial Times stated that the UK is experiencing the most serious economic crisis since the global financial crisis. The latest inflation rate announced in the UK in August reached 10.1%. A new high in 40 years.
Goldman Sachs has warned that UK inflation could exceed 22% next year due to rising energy costs, in one of the most grim forecasts yet. The bank expects the UK economy to shrink by 3.4% in this scenario. Citibank also expects UK inflation to rise to 18.6% in January 2023.
Many British people are feeling the pressure of living caused by inflation, and at the same time, they have not had matching wage increases.
Soaring prices have led to a relatively rapid decline in people’s real income, which in turn has intensified labor-capital conflicts. Therefore, workers chose to go on strike to fight for higher wages.
Since June this year, workers in the British railway and subway systems have gone on strike multiple times to protest against low wages, poor working conditions and layoffs. In September, criminal lawyers and postal workers also plan to join the strike.
At present, the UK’s domestic economy is in recession, and dock workers’ demands for wage increases that match inflation may not be met for a while, leading to continuation of strikes.
The impact of the strike continues to show
In addition to the “strike wave” in the UK, other European countries are also caught in a strike crisis.
Christian Reloffs, co-founder of Germany’s Axier AG, said that earlier this year, due to high inflation in Europe and workers seeking salary increases, strikes occurred at many ports in northern Germany and a large number of containers piled up, exacerbating the situation in Europe this summer. Logistics issues happening everywhere.
Lelovs said that once the port cannot operate normally, it will have a significant impact on the efficiency of the container transportation network and have a chain reaction on the upstream and downstream supply chains. This year’s port strikes in many places in Europe have caused great damage to logistics and manufacturing.
Suki Bossi, general manager of Russell Group, said that global ports are facing congestion due to the huge backlog of cargo caused by the new crown epidemic, and the strike may cause more delays, the impact of which will be felt in the coming weeks to months.
Sarah Shiffrin, a supply chain management expert at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, said the strike occurred at a critical time as many supply chains are preparing for the Christmas sales season. Extreme weather such as drought in Europe this summer has seriously affected the supply chain.
We would like to remind freight forwarders and cargo owners who have recently traded with Europe to avoid risks in a timely manner, arrange shipments reasonably, pay attention to the impact of ship and cargo delays caused by port strikes, and avoid losses in money and cargo.
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