Stevedoring strike begins – road transport strike delayed
09.03.2010
The labour market situation concerning the transport sectors in Finland remains difficult. The Finnish Transport Workers’ Union AKT began a strike among its stevedores on Thursday 4 March 2010 at 6am.
Conciliation negotiations will resume on Tuesday 9 March at 1pm.
The stevedoring strike is crippling foreign exports and imports almost entirely. The financial impact of the strike is considerable. It is calculated that export losses are amounting to 110 million euros per day.
The strike was caused by AKT’s demands for 12 months of severance compensation, which the employer, the Finnish Port Operators Association (Satamaoperaattorit ry), considers unreasonable. The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK considers the strike and the crippling of foreign trade that it has caused to be irresponsible amidst the current economic situation.
The strike threatened by AKT concerning warehouse terminals and port workers within the road transport branch has been delayed by mutual agreement until Thursday 11 March at 6am. The strike was due to begin on Friday 5 March at 6am. The parties have until 1pm on 10 March to respond to the conciliator’s conciliation proposal.
The Finnish Transport Workers’ Union AKT, the Employers’ Federation of Road Transport (ALT), the Oil Product Association (Öljytuote ry) and the Finnish Tank Truck Association (Suomen Säiliöautoliitto) agreed to the conciliation proposal for road transport on 3 March. The road transport strike that had begun on 2 March at 6pm was terminated immediately.
The road transport agreement will increase wages by 0.6 percent at the beginning of April, 0.7 percent at the beginning of October, and 0.6 percent at the beginning of April next year. At the beginning of December next year wages will be increased in line with the average general wage increase among the four main industrial branches. The annual cost impact of the agreement, which is valid until the end of January 2012, averages 0.64 percent.
