Workers at UK's biggest container port, Felixstowe, are into the third day of their planned eight-day industrial action over pay.

They have rejected the offer of a seven percent increase plus cash bonus backdated to January, demanding instead an increase of at least 10 percent.

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"I have sympathy for nurses, people in the public sector who are not getting the pay rises," says Gary Joy, a Felixstowe shop steward flipping burgers to feed his colleagues on the picket line, but he insists their demands are deserved.

"We worked through the pandemic," he points out.

Felixstowe, a huge site, remains idle as row upon row of stacked containers lie neglected in the sun. Normally the port handles 4 million containers a year, and clears 2,000 ships taking goods from 700 ports worldwide.

Struggling port workers

Containers are being diverted to European ports or smaller harbors in the UK to be dumped for later.

Felixstowe, approximately 116 kilometers northeast of London, is a central hub and main distribution center for any UK importer or exporter.

Electrical appliances, car parts, furniture pieces, food and clothing items, all make their way through these docks.

The port workers at Felixstowe say they are struggling financially in the face of three inflationary pressures on the global economy – energy prices, the conflict in Ukraine and limited supply chains.

Felixstowe port is the heart of the UK supply chain and it has been switched off.

The port authorities say they will manage. They insist that the offer made to the workers is a good one and the disruption will not be as bad as claimed.

"Global supply chains have got much more used to disruption since the onset of COVID-19," says Paul Davey, Chief of Operations at the port. 

He says the world of just-in-time supply chains has changed and companies are stockpiling better. This will become clearer over time – but local companies are feeling the pinch already. 

CP Transport, a haulage company, has dozens of contracts to run goods in and out of Felixstowe across the country. The company's Managing Director Adam Searle estimates this lost week will cost the company about $100,000: "I'll never get it back," he says.

There are fears that consumers across Britain could experience fresh shortages of some goods and even higher prices due to this strike.

After strike action by rail workers, London Underground, Royal Mail and bus drivers, this summer is being billed as Britain's worst for industrial action since the 1980s.

Other sectors in the economy may be watching to see who blinks first at the standoff in Felixstowe before considering their own negotiations as inflation and the cost of winter energy bills start to bite.