Cost of living crisis: UK’s largest port faces eight-day strike
August 22, 2022, 9:23 am

Cost of living crisis: UK’s largest port faces eight-day strike

The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of the Shard Quarter development - Pixabay

Workers at the UK’s largest port on Sunday (August 21) began an eight-day strike following disputes over pay rises, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Some 1,900 members of the Unite Union will take part in the industrial action at the Felixstowe Port in the east of England. These include crane drivers, stevedores, and machine operators, it said.

“The latest figures show that in 2020 it (Felixstowe Port) made £61 million (around $72 million) in profits,” Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary said, adding that the port is “enormous profitable.”

Its parent company, CK Hutchinson Holding Ltd, is so wealthy that, in the same year, it handed out £99 million ($117 million) to its shareholders. So they can give Felixstowe workers a decent pay rise,” Graham said.

The walkout is expected to last until Aug. 29 and is the first strike to affect the port since 1989. Members of Unite voted 9-1 in favor of industrial action following disputes over pay rises with the port’s authorities.

Passengers queue for busses outside Victoria Station London, on August 19, 2022, as strike action on Buses, National Rail and London Underground affects services. (AFP)

Unite warned that the walkout at the Felixstowe Port, which handles nearly half of all container freight entering the UK, would cause significant supply chain disruption and negatively impact the haulage and logistics sectors of the economy.

UK travel chaos stretches into weekend with national rail strike over pay

The industrial action at the UK’s largest port is the latest following a spate of strikes across the country in the last two months.

Workers across various sectors, including public transport, aviation, healthcare, and law, have staged mass walkouts over the ever-increasing cost of living crisis and a squeeze on real wage growth.

Source: aa

Study: Portugal becomes fastest aging country in EU Survey: Record two thirds of Germans unhappy with Chancellor Scholz

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”