
Strikes in ports and road transport are set to continue in Finland.
The Finnish Transport Workersâ Union (AKT) on Sunday rejected National Conciliator Leo Suomaaâs proposal for a new two-year collective bargaining agreement for stevedores, arguing that the proposal offered pay rises that fall short of those in manufacturing industries and failed to address any other terms and conditions of employment.
âThe proposal had been stripped of all textual terms. AKTâs goal remains to reach a settlement as soon as possible,â commented Ismo Kokko, the chairperson at AKT.
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Juha Mutru, the chief executive of the Finnish Port Operatorsâ Association, on Sunday confirmed that the settlement proposal only addressed the question of pay rises, indicating that employers are unlikely to approve larger raises.
âThis was purely a pay proposal, and it was stretched to the maximum,â he said to YLE. âPay rises of around six per cent have been common, and thatâs the level this was tuned to.â
AKT on Wednesday launched a series of strikes in ports and three segments of road transport â lorries, tankers and oil products â in an attempt to secure pay rises that prevent the erosion of real wages.
The stevedore strike alone has effectively halted all foreign goods trade.
The strikes have had an impact on several other sectors of society, too, according to YLE. The Finnish public broadcasting company reported during the course of last week that the transport sector strikes can have an impact on can and bottle recycling machines, the transfer of media between libraries, the availability of petrol at service station, waste management services, and raw material availability at manufacturing sites.
Niina Kostiander, the head of communications at Outokumpu, on Thursday said the strike has yet to have an âimmediate impactâ on the operations of the steel makerâs steel mill in Tornio, Western Lapland. The strike prolonging, though, could disrupt both raw material availability and product deliveries to clients.
âWeâll naturally try to minimise all possible effects on deliveries and production,â she commented to YLE.
A similar message was sent by MetsĂ€ Group. âMetsĂ€ Groupâs factories are in operation for the time being, but if the strike drags on their operations will be in jeopardy,â said Juha Laine, the head of communications at the Finnish forestry conglomerate.
The Finnish Post and Logistics Union (PAU), meanwhile, has staged a sympathy strike that will delay letter deliveries by one to two weeks and parcel deliveries by five to seven days due to a temporary backlog at the logistics centre of Posti.
âThis has a very similar effect in all parts of the country,â said Jarmo Ainasoja, the head of exception management at Posti.
Unless a breakthrough is achieved in the
Source: Helsinki Times
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