Finland Ports Strike on September 18
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Finland's three big trade union federations plan industrial action on Friday against the government's labor reform program.
Hence, Finnish ports, already suffering from container traffic declines, are set to shut on Friday 18 September.
Transport Workers Union (ATK) head Marko Piirainen told state broadcaster YLE that the country will "virtually come to a standstill", reports JoC. Work is expected to halt beginning at 8:00 a.m. local time, with day-long demonstrations set to start at 11:00 a.m.
The strike is aimed at safeguarding entitlements to paid holidays, overtime pay, and sick leave.
According to YLE, stevedoring company Steveco is expected to announce negotiations over potentially shedding all its 700 workers at Kotka port. The overall traffic slipped 5% year on year in August.
This is the second strike at Finnish ports this year. The nation’s ports have been reporting declining volumes for a number of years.