The current industrial action has seen all shipside activity at the port’s container terminal cease since Tuesday of this week, following the decision by members of the union to withdraw their labour.
The strike is already having a major impact on the general Scottish economy and the specific activities of BIFA members, which are freight forwarders that facilitate the movement of much of Scotland’s visible trade. The current situation is damaging Scotland’s economy by increasing costs and causing major inconvenience to the supply chains of BIFA members’ customers.
BIFA’s members have expressed their view that if necessary the Scottish Government should intervene to facilitate these meanings.
In a letter to Unite, Forth Ports and the Scottish Government, BIFA Director General, Robert Keen writes: “Consultation and negotiation are two cornerstones to good industrial relations and BIFA urges all sides to meet as a matter of urgency in order to settle this dispute and get the port’s container terminal back to work.”
