February 2023
Strike in Finnish logistics and transport sector - UPDATE
Following our information of last week, see below a press article providing an update of the situation, including the impact on paper mills (see highlights below):
Finnish stevedore walkout continues as new strike warnings for port terminal workers and truckers loom.
BRUSSELS, 22 February 2023 (Fastmarkets RISI) - The strike of stevedores across Finnish ports is continuing into its second week, while workers in the port terminal and trucking sectors, after a one-week strike that concluded yesterday, are gearing up for another possible walkout on March 1.
The Finnish Transport Union (AKT) rejected the most recent settlement proposal for a new collective agreement which was put forward by the mediator after intensive talks last weekend. According to the union, the salary increase that was proposed was “minimal” compared to the previous offer, while the broader issue of working conditions had not been addressed.
“The stevedoring industry strike will therefore continue for the time being, until an agreement is reached,” the AKT said.
Negotiations will restart at 2:00 PM Thursday, the National Mediator’s Office announced on Twitter.
Port terminal workers and truckers completed their initial one-week industrial action at midnight on February 21 and 6:00 AM February 22, respectively, but new strike warnings have already been announced. If no agreement is reached, workers in these two sectors will walk off the job again from March 1 to March 8.
The AKT continues to say that the main goal is to reach an agreement that improves wage levels and corrects for losses of purchasing power. Certain issues regarding working conditions must also be resolved.
While no pulp or paper mills have reported any disruption to operations because of the strikes so far, several have suggested that should the industrial action continue for a longer period, the situation could change.
Metsä Group told Fastmarkets RISI on Monday that its mills in Finland continue to operate but said that if the strikes go on for long, mill operations will “become difficult,” with both raw materials and products dependent on ports’ operations.
UPM has informed customers that the strikes could impact its ability to deliver pulp produced at its Finnish mills but said that in order to mitigate any possible impact, it had increased storage capacity outside ports and raised inventory levels outside Finland. The firm also noted that deliveries of its bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp from Uruguay were not impacted by the strikes.
