Felixstowe: Workers reach deal and accept 8.5 per cent pay increase
Workers at the port of Felixstowe have finally reached a deal and accepted an 8.5 per cent pay increase for 2023.
The port said that over 90 per cent of workers agreed to the rise, which also includes an additional £1,000 lump sum.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement on the 2023 pay deal,” said Felixstowe’s chief operating officer Robert Ashton.
“This is the earliest we have concluded an annual pay review and it provides welcome certainty and stability at a time when our employees, like everyone else, are facing an increase in the cost of living.”
A union spokesperson welcomed the pay increasing, saying it had been achieved following this summer’s strike action.
Members of the union Unite have walked out twice over the summer in a long-standing dispute over pay.
Felixstowe workers went on two eight-day strikes in August and then again in September after refusing a 7 per cent pay increase plus a £500 lump sum backdated to 1 January 2022.
Despite their length, the strikes didn’t significantly disrupt the UK supply chain, as operations have become increasingly more resilient post-Covid.
The deal was nevertheless welcomed by the UK Chamber of Shipping, which said the agreement should ensure no additional industrial action.
“Felixstowe is an important link in UK supply chains and shipping companies worked hard to minimise disruption during the dispute but this agreement should ensure no further disruption,” they said.