“The second spike of inflation is definitely right down to profiteering and never wages”
Unite’s Basic Secretary Sharon Graham has taken aside the claims of Felixstowe Dock and Railway Firm, that it will possibly’t afford a pay rise for its staff, after 1900 staff went on strike.
Felixstowe in Suffolk is the UK’s largest container port and dock and staff have gone on strike for the primary time in 30 years, strolling out for eight days.
Unite say that they’ve carried out their very own investigations of the Felixstowe Docks firm, its subsidiaries and in the end its mum or dad firm, based mostly in Hong Kong. They discovered that the corporate is crying ‘crocodile tears’ when it claims it will possibly’t afford to pay its dockers.
Since 2017 the corporate has paid out £198 million in dividends most of which have gone to mum or dad corporations, with the final word holding firm being CK Hutchinson Holdings Ltd, which is registered in Hong Kong.
For instance, Felixstowe’s accounts for 2020 (on the top of the pandemic) present the corporate made pre-tax income of £61 million whereas additionally paying a dividend of £99 million.
Showing on BBC Radio 4 As we speak, Graham mentioned it was abhorrent for the corporate to ask their staff to take a pay reduce whereas making report income.
She mentioned: “Ten days in the past they submitted accounts that they’d £79 million revenue in 2021, £42 million went to shareholder and their income are up 28%, they’ve made extra revenue than they’ve ever made of their historical past and the concept that they’re now saying to staff who made them that revenue that we’re asking you to take a pay reduce is abhorrent to me. The truth is that they’ve a transparent potential to pay.”
Staff are asking for a ten% pay enhance.
Graham added: “‘If you’ve acquired a scenario the place an employer is making large income, £79 million, £42 million to shareholder after which they’re turning to their staff and saying we’ve made these report income for the primary time in our historical past however what we would like you to do is take a pay reduce. That’s simply not honest.”
The Basic Secretary of Unite additionally addressed head on the declare that pay rises for staff will gasoline additional inflation. She mentioned: “The second spike of inflation is definitely right down to profiteering and never wages, so once they begin coping with the profiteering that’s happening then possibly we’ll come again and have a dialogue about wages.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Ahead
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