Finnish Ports Get Back To Normal As Strike Ends

Traffic at Finnish ports and on the road was returning to normal Monday after a five-day strike by around 10,000 Finnish transport workers ended late March 2, officials said. However, further industrial action is looming, with stevedores still negotiating with employers while forestry industry workers have issued a notice for an April 11 strike.

The stevedores, who stopped working to support the transport workers, had mostly returned to work, and staffing was expected to be normal by the end of the day. Road transportation was also starting to function normally as truck and bus drivers and workers at transport terminals returned to work. However, officials said clearing out all the cargo that had piled up at strikebound municipal ports and when most road transport was halted might take up to a week.

The confederation of Finnish industry and employers has estimated the stevedores' strike alone paralyzed daily public port trade worth about $192.5 million.