UNITE the Union is organising strike action overseas to stop goods reaching the UK in an effort to win a dispute over pay for dock workers at Felixstowe.

Asked if the current offer, which includes a £500 lump sum, was a good one, Unite national officer Robert Morton said “there may be many, many at home, thinking that it’s not good enough if you realise that the RPI is running now at 12.3%.

“If you accept 7% then your standard of living goes down by 5.3%. And as for the £500, it’s an insult, because if you do your maths and you take away the National Insurance increase that the Government have foisted upon us and also the income tax you end up roughly with just over £300.

“It’s a worthless offer, as far as we’re concerned.”

He was commenting on the start of a planned eight-day strike at Felixstowe by dock workers tomorrow in an interview during Breakfast with Anne Diamond and Mark Longhurst on GB News.

Asked about pay rises contributing to inflation, Mr Morton said: “If you look at the last set of books that they presented to Companies House, you will find that they [Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company] made £60 million profit and paid out over £90 million in dividends. This is what drives inflation, not the rise in wages.

“And the answer to your question is yes, I do expect an increase of 12%. Just yesterday, Unite the Union with two other companies realised wage increases of 13% and 12%, so yes, I do believe that it is working, our strategy, and I expect this to happen at Felixstowe docks too.”

Asked what will happen with ships wanted to unload in the coming days, he said: “They won’t be able to come into the port, they won’t be able to discharge.

“And we have connections all over the world and what we are saying we cannot have secondary action in this country, but we can have secondary action internationally. And that’s what’s going to happen to any shifts involved in Felixstowe during this dispute. And the answer to your question is because of that…the supply line internationally will be severely disrupted.”

He added: “No, they won’t be able to come into the port, they won’t be able to discharge.

“And we have connections all over the world and what we are saying we cannot have secondary action in this country, but we can have secondary action internationally and that’s what’s going to happen to any shifts involved in Felixstowe during this dispute.

“And the answer to your question is because of that…the supply line internationally will be severely disrupted.”

Mr Morton said: “We have these anti trade union laws that the Tories brought in, and I repeat myself, we can’t do any secondary action here but there’s nothing to stop us doing it globally and that’s what we’re going to do.”