River Clyde workers could strike amid ongoing pay dispute

The clash involves around a dozen marine pilots, who are members of Unite the union, based at King George V Dock in Govan as well as Greenock Ocean Terminal.

Workers' anger stems from at employer Clydeport's refusal to honour a benchmarking exercise that was part of pay negotiations two years ago.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: "The Clydeport pilots are rightly angry that the company has refused to bring their pay into line.

"This is a very wealthy company who can easily afford to resolve this dispute, but it is choosing not to in order to boost its already overflowing coffers."

The pilots involved are responsible for the safe guiding of vessels along the River Clyde.

An agreement on the two-year-old dispute would have brought their pay in line with industry standards.

Shauna Wright, industrial officer at Unite, said: "The escalation in the dispute is down to the breakdown in trust.

"All vessels coming up or down the Clyde rely on our members and they simply can’t operate without them."

Balloting is now open and is set to close on Thursday, August 27.