Dockworkers strike for eight days at the Port of Felixstowe
Dockworkers strike for eight days at the Port of Felixstowe. The disruption ran from 2022-08-21 (21 August 2022) to 2022-08-29 (29 August 2022), 9 days, affecting Felixstowe. Felixstowe averaged 0.2 calls per day during the event window against an expected 2.3 (-2.1).
Key facts
- Started
- 2022-08-21 (21 August 2022)
- Ended
- 2022-08-29 (29 August 2022)
- Status
- ended
- Type
- Labour action
- Severity
- 3 Significant
- Scope
- port
- Chokepoints
- None
- Ports
- Felixstowe
- Lanes
- None
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Confidence
- high: The strike dates, the number of workers and the pay positions come from Unite, the union that called the action, and from a Maersk customer advisory, with consistent trade press reporting at the start and at the settlement.
- First reported
- 2022-08-05 (5 August 2022)
- Severity basis: Port level stoppage of eight days at Felixstowe, meeting the level 3 criterion of a port stoppage of seven days or more.
What happened
From 2022-08-21 (21 August 2022) more than 1,900 dockworkers at the Port of Felixstowe struck for eight days in a pay dispute, halting container handling at the United Kingdom's largest container port. Unite announced the action on 2022-08-05 after conciliation talks at Acas ended without an improved offer from the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company, which the union said had offered seven per cent against retail price inflation of 11.8 per cent. The strike ran from 07:00 on 2022-08-21 to 06:59 on 2022-08-29 and ended without a settlement. Maersk told customers it would keep receiving dry exports for affected vessels and did not plan diversions to other ports. A second eight day strike followed from 2022-09-27, and the dispute was settled in December 2022.
Measured effect
Container ship port calls, Felixstowe
- Baseline (expected)
- 2.3 calls per day
- Observed
- 0.2 calls per day
- Change
- -2.1 (percent omitted, baseline too small)
- Standardised score
- -1.4
- Event window
- 2022-08-21 to 2022-08-29 (9 days)
- Baseline window
- 2022-06-19 to 2022-08-13 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-16 (16 September 2026), data revision 1:5ffce164b3a0
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Timeline
- Unite announces eight days of strike action at Felixstowe from 21 August after talks at the conciliation service Acas fail to produce an improved pay offer from the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company. [s1] [s3]
- Maersk issues a customer advisory on the announced strike, saying it will continue to accept dry exports for affected Felixstowe vessels and does not plan diversions to other United Kingdom or north European ports. [s2]
- Over 1,900 Unite members, including crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores, stop work at 07:00. It is the first strike at the port since 1989. [s1] [s3]
- The strike ends at 06:59 with no agreement. The company had offered seven per cent plus a lump sum of 500 pounds for 2022. [s4] [s5]
Cause
Unite called the strike over pay, saying the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company would not improve on a seven per cent offer at a time when the retail prices index stood at 11.8 per cent, and that members had received 1.4 per cent the previous year. Attributed by: Unite the Union. [s1]
Resolution
Corrections
No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-16 (16 September 2026).
Sources
- [s1] Unite the Union, Strikes announced at port of Felixstowe as company fails to make acceptable pay offer, published 2022-08-05 (5 August 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s2] Maersk, Announced strike action at Ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool, published 2022-08-08 (8 August 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s3] The Maritime Executive, Week-Long Strike Scheduled to Disrupt Container Movement at Felixstowe, published 2022-08-05 (5 August 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s4] The Maritime Executive, Felixstowe and Union Agree to Two-Year Wage Deal for Dockworkers, published 2022-12-13 (13 December 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s5] Unite the Union, Felixstowe port workers win 15.5 per cent pay increase, published 2022-12-13 (13 December 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)