Drewry’s Ports and Terminals Insight shows that strikes organised by port workers led to significant decreases in the capacity of vessel arrivals.
Workers at the Port in Felixstowe took part in two separate eight-day strikes between August and October 2022. During the second strike, at the beginning of October, the capacity of vessel arrivals decreased by over 100,000 TEU, dropping to the lowest weekly average in over five months.
Meanwhile, the average call duration rose from below three days to over nine days. Furthermore, the two highest weekly average call durations from June to October were both during strikes.
Yesterday marked the beginning of another strike, as nearly 600 Liverpool port workers are set to take action until 17th October. Union Unite confirmed that control room operators have now joined port operatives and engineers in taking industrial action.
The protests are over pay disputes, with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) offering a pay rise of around 8.3%. Workers feel this is not in line with the rising cost of living, with the UK Retail Price Index (RPI) sitting at 12.3%.
