SAK leader Ihalainen fails to open negotiations on bus strike

Stoppage set to continue on Monday

Lauri Ihalainen

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Sunday brought no progress on commencing negotiations in the bus drivers' strike that started in Helsinki last Tuesday and has now spread to hamper public transport in eight Finnish cities.
      Over the weekend, SAK (Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions) Chairman Lauri Ihalainen started exploring the possibility of bringing in the National Conciliator or any outside arbitrator to open lines of communication between the opposing parties in the dispute.
      An added motive to bring the strike to an end is concern over how the stoppage may affect the ongoing income policy negotiations.
      By Sunday evening, however, there were no signs of progress in kick-starting a dialogue between the two sides. According to SAK, resistance from the employers' side thwarted the attempt.
     
Hannu Parvela, managing director of the Road Transport Employers' Union (ALT), commented that nobody has contacted them with regard to the question of bringing in an arbitrator.
      According to Parvela, a third complaint will be sent to the Labour Court on Monday morning. "We don't have any other means", Parvela insists. The employers' side has refused to start any negotiations unless the strike is first called off.
      "Instead of bringing in an arbitrator, Ihalainen should cancel the strike", Parvela demands.
     
The strike is set to continue on Monday in the capital area as well as in the supporting cities of Kuopio, Oulu, Lahti, Jyväskylä, and Pori.
      The employers' side estimates that on Monday a third of the normal departures will be run with the help of executives and foremen and a few strike-breakers.
      In Jyväskylä, the strike has escalated to affect long-distance and charter traffic as well. According to AKT, this was caused by a breach of strike boundaries by the employers' side. "The foremen promised they would not sit behind the wheel, but this was an empty pledge", union official Jari Semi explains.
     
In the capital area, about 1,300 Concordia and Connex Espoo and Connex Vantaa drivers are on strike.
      AKT claims that in contravention of the collective labour agreement the employers are trying to turn the drivers' full-time employment to part-time contracts instead.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Bus strike spreads to local traffic in five cities outside Helsinki region (12.11.2003)
  Labour Court finds bus strike illegal; stoppage set to expand on Friday (11.11.2004)
  Bus companies managed to run some departures on strikebound lines; dispute continues (10.11.2004)

Links:
  Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV)

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