Strike in Liverpool port imminent after rejecting wage offer

At the port of Liverpool, dock workers have rejected their employer’s latest wage offer, leading to a strike looming. This strike is likely to last from 19 September to 3 October. Earlier, the port of Felixstowe went on strike, again threatening to shut down much of container exports and imports. Liverpool port staff have been offered a 7% pay rise and a £750 bonus by the port authority MDHC (part of Peel Ports), which was not enough. Back in 2021, MDHC promised to re-scale wages, however, this has not happened to date. Trade union Unite says it finds the move incomprehensible, especially as a profit of £30 million was made. The union says it is not satisfied with a pay rise of less than 10%. A total of 560 people, including port workers and maintenance engineers, are on strike.

At Felixstowe port, workers rejected the wage offer, here it involved a 7% increase and a £500 bonus. At this port, they now plan to strike again between 27 September and 5 October until an improvement offer is put on the table. The issue here is the increase in wages for some 1 900 people. In August, there was also a strike at the UK’s busiest container port, then an eight-day strike. With Liverpool’s strike in the same period, this will cause many disruptions in logistics flows. Delays at the Port of Felixstowe are already at more than 14 days.