Workers at Scotland's largest container port have begun a two-week strike over proposed shift changes.

Unite union members launched the action at the Port of Grangemouth at midnight on Tuesday, and plan to continue the strike until Tuesday, March 29.

The union said that 100% of its members in the port operatives division had voted for action on a 97% turnout.

Employees at the port, which is operated by Forth Ports, are unhappy at plans to change shift rotations and the removal of weekend overtime pay rates.

Unite representatives claim that the changes will affect pay by up to £1800 a year.

A wage freeze has also been imposed for the 2016-2017 period.

Unite regional officer Sandy Smart said: "The basics of good relations are consultation and negotiation but Forth Ports completely ignored this to impose a range of measures that will cause significant financial detriment to its employees.

"We have repeatedly approached the employer in an effort to resolve this situation and avoid a damaging dispute but we have been stonewalled at every turn.

"The anger of our members is clear in the overwhelming support for strikes and their demands for proper negotiations concerning the future of their livelihoods."

A spokesperson for the Port of Grangemouth said: "We are disappointed that Unite has decided to take this unjustified action in response to new shift patterns designed to meet to the needs of our customers at the Port of Grangemouth.

"While we have suspended quayside operations at the container terminal, except for vessels that are already in the port or the river, the remainder of the port remains open for business and continues to operate.

"Vessels call at the port seven days a week and we need to be able to service those vessels. Our staff and their union accepted the need for such flexibility, and that shift patterns may require to change in the future, when this element of their employment contracts was agreed in 2011."

Approximately nine million tonnes of cargo are handled through the dock facilities at Grangemouth each year.