SOME 2,000 dockers at Britain's biggest container port plan to strike for eight days later this month after failing to reach a pay deal, reports Bloomberg.

The Unite union said dockers will strike from August 21 to 29, threatening to sever one of the UK's most important trade routes. Britain is especially vulnerable because it imports nearly to half its food it consumes.,

Talks failed after the Hong Kong Hutchison-owned port, did not improve its offer of a seven per cent pay increase, the union said.

If the strikes go ahead, they'll worsen what's been called the UK's "summer of discontent", which has already seen railwaymen walk out, with airports and airlines reeling from staffing shortages and labour woes, resulting in mass cancellations of flights.

A shortage of truck drivers and global shipping logjams last year caused supply-chain disruptions at Felixstowe ahead of the busy Christmas season, with some containerships diverted to other ports. A shutdown of the UK port due to strikes could have a knock-on effect for other European harbours as ships get rerouted.

Said Hutchison: "The port has not had a strike since 1989 and we are disappointed that the union has served notice of industrial action while talks are ongoing."

Almost 2,000 ships call at Felixstowe annually, with the port handling four million TEU a year, according to its website.