Confederation Of Finnish Industry And Employers News

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.

Finnish exports and imports were almost at a standstill last week as a strike over a wage claim by transport workers supported by stevedores and seamen went into a second day. The state labor mediation office said no new talks had been scheduled between unions and employers. Harri Tuulensuu, director of the Federation of Finnish Master Stevedores, said municipal ports were for the most part closed, although an insignificant volume of traffic was moving in Helsinki and Hamina, due to certain special agreements. A few industrial harbors linked to the refineries of energy group Fortum and steel group Rautaruukki were still operating as their stevedores were not members of the striking AKT union. But due to the seamen's sympathy strike they too could face difficulties, Tuulensuu said.

Three-quarters of Finnish export traffic was halted on Monday by a stevedores strike after the failure of weekend talks between between employer and employee representatives. Around 3,500 stevedores are taking part, affecting foreign trade worth around $187.7 million per day, said the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT). Nokia Oyj Abp, Finland's single largest exporter and the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, said its operations would not, for the time being, be affected as most of its export products were delivered by air. But the timber industry, which is also a significant exporter and is heavily dependent on ports, voiced concern.

The 10 percent of Finland's workers who still have no pay deal for this year are digging in their heels in preparation for strikes which could have serious effects on the Finnish economy. The biggest risks of labor unrest are in sea transport, which carries 75 percent of the volume of Finnish foreign trade and where both seamen and stevedores are seeking better benefits than those who have already accepted pay hikes. Most unions have accepted pay raises costing employers around 3.1 percent this year but the remaining sectors have asked for considerably more, employers say. The seamen, upset by shipping industry plans to move vessels to a cheaper foreign flag, have threatened to strike on March 6.

The 10 percent of Finland's workers who still have no pay deal for this year are digging in their heels in preparation for strikes, which could have serious effects on the Finnish economy. The biggest risks of labor unrest are in sea transport, which carries 75 percent of the volume of Finnish foreign trade and where both seamen and stevedores are seeking better benefits than those who have already accepted pay hikes. Most unions have accepted pay raises costing employers around 3.1 percent this year, but the remaining sectors have asked for considerably more, employers say. The seamen, upset by shipping industry plans to move vessels to a cheaper foreign flag, have threatened to strike on March 6.