All activities at Finnish ports could grind to a halt this Friday, September 18, if the Transport Workers Union (AKT) presses on with its plan to stage industrial action to protest the government’s proposed changes to the existing labor contracts, according to local media.
AKT has instructed its 50,000 members working in the country’s transportation industry to stop work on 11 am local time Friday, to coincide with the planned start of the industrial action organized by the three largest trade unions in the country.
Finnish unions say that it is impossible for them to accept the proposed changes to the labor contracts which include docking pay for the first day of sick leave, reduced compensation for overtime work and work on Sunday, and termination of two bank holidays.
World Maritime News Staff; Image: Port of Helsinki