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The escalation of the dockers' industrial action is posing a growing threat to the city's trading and logistics industry, whose long-term competitiveness could be damaged if the labor dispute is allowed to deteriorate further.

Higher handling costs have slashed the competitiveness of Hong Kong ports. But many shippers still prefer Hong Kong over Shenzhen or other neighboring ports because Hong Kong ports are still supreme in terms of service reliability and punctuality.

However, this supremacy of service quality is being compromised by the dock workers' strike, which has dragged on for three weeks. As a result, around 90 cargo vessels would have diverted to other ports by April 21, according to estimates by the strike-hit port operator Hongkong International Terminals (HIT).

Any further deterioration and extension of the industrial action is set to weaken shippers' confidence in the city, causing permanent damage to the competitiveness of the city's ports, which are an important part of the trading and logistics industry, one of the four pillars of the local economy.

This for sure is the least desired scenario for Hong Kong people including the dockers. To prevent such a deplorable scenario from happening, all parties involved should practice self-restraint for the sake of the industry and the city.

Under the guidance of reason, the labor dispute could be settled peacefully and satisfactorily.

What is worrisome is that the industrial action has been hijacked by some radical politicians who never let go any chance to make political gains at the expense of public interest. The political opportunists have made the negotiation process bumpy.

It's a positive sign that contractors demonstrated their sincerity by making some concessions in Tuesday's negotiations and on Wednesday expressing their willingness to hold further talks on workers' demands.

Now it is morally imperative and reasonable for the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), organizer of the strike, to show at least the same amount of sincerity in solving the problem, as negotiation won't be able to progress without concessions on both sides.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 04/18/2013 page9)