Finland’s ports are set to shut on Friday 18 September as the country’s three big trade union federations protest against the government’s labour reform programme.
Work is expected to halt from 0800 with day-long demonstrations set to start at 1100.
Transport Workers Union (ATK) head Marko Piirainen told state broadcaster YLE that the country will “virtually come to a standstill”.
“We will come to demonstrate against the government’s coercion tactics,” he said.
Unions are seeking to protect entitlements to paid holidays, overtime pay, and sick leave.
Finland is now in a fifth year of economic stagnation, with unemployment up to 12%, amid high costs and reduced demand for its traditional exports such as pulp and paper, mobile phones, and machinery.
EU sanctions against Russia have also hit companies such as food producers.
On 14 September, stevedoring company Steveco is expected to announce negotiations over potentially shedding all its 700 workers at Kotka port, according to YLE.
Highly reliant on Russian transit traffic, Kotka has posted a decline in volumes this year. Its overall traffic slipped 5% year on year in August, while Russian traffic plummeted 34.5%.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.