Ongoing strike action by Piraeus port workers will push Greece even lower than its already weak position in international competitiveness rankings, an export group said yesterday.

Dockworkers have been striking in protest against the government handing over cargo management operations to China’s Cosco, a move they say will result in job cuts.

The Panhellenic Exporters Association said in a letter to Economy, Competitiveness and Merchant Marine Minister Louka Katseli that the strike is certain to cause irreversible damage to Greece’s competitiveness.

“Particularly in the case of export businesses, the cost of the strike is greater if we take into account that they cannot take delivery of raw materials to produce export goods, the fact that they will incur increased transport costs and are unable to get products to customers abroad,” the letter said.

The latest figures on Greece’s international competitiveness, released in September by the World Economic Forum, showed the country slipped four places to 71st position in a global ranking of 133 nations.

Meanwhile, the Messinian chamber of commerce yesterday took legal action against port workers, asking a court to declare the strike “illegal and abusive.”

Workers are likely to decide tomorrow whether they will go back to work on Monday.