February 2023

Strike in Finnish logistics and transport sector - possible impacts on paper supply

BRUSSELS, 15 February 2023 (Fastmarkets RISI) - Industrial action across the Finnish logistics sector has begun after last-minute negotiations Tuesday between unions and employer associations on a new collective agreement failed to resolve the dispute.

Stevedores at Finnish ports officially went on strike this morning at 6:00 AM until further notice, according to the Finnish Transport Union (AKT). Terminal operators also walked off the job at 6:00 AM this morning, with their action to continue until midnight, February 21. Workers in the trucking, tanker and oil products industries went on strike as of 12:00 AM this morning and will remain off the job until 6:00 AM on February 22. The strike affects some 9,000 workers, according to the union.

The AKT said that negotiations with employer organizations went down to the wire Tuesday, and that a mediator presented settlement proposals to representatives from the various logistics sectors but that the offers were rejected as “completely inadequate.”

The union added that the goal remains to reach an agreement that improves wage levels and corrects for losses in purchasing power, so that real wages do not fall. Key issues regarding working conditions also must still be resolved.

With that in mind, the AKT has announced new strike warnings from March 1. For the terminal operator sector, a new strike will begin at 6:00 AM on March 1 if no agreement is reached before then, and run until 6:00 AM March 8, while trucking sector workers will walk of the job again on March 1 at 3:00 AM until March 8 at 3:00 AM.

The parties have been negotiating a new collective agreement since December. The last agreement expired on January 31.