A strike by stevedores at Finnish harbours continues for a seventh day. Mediation efforts resumed on Tuesday, but late in the evening National Conciliator Esa Lonka did not feel that it was yet feasible to put forward a proposal for a settlement.
Negotiations aimed at ending the stoppage will continue on Wednesday afternoon.
Lonka listened closely to the views of the two sides on Tuesday. The discussions were called constructive.
Lonka confirmed in the evening that the focus of the dispute involves job security and severance pay.
The Finnish Transport Workers' Union (AKT) and the Finnish Port Operators' Association disagree on what had been agreed in previous negotiations.
It is the view of AKT that in 2008, the two sides basically agreed on the severance pay issue, with only some details remaining open.
The management side says that there was only talk about funding for severance pay: harbour operators have set up a fund to provide support for companies to allow them to provide financial aid for employees who are being axed. The fund contains EUR 200,000, but none of it has been distributed yet.
The union insists that the companies should contribute to the fund and use it for paying out severance pay to those whose jobs are being cut. At the beginning of the negotiations, the union demand was that severance pay should be the equivalent of a year’s pay.
Another key issue in the talks involves flexibility in working hours.
The management side complains that working hours in the field are excessively rigid, when the nature of the work would require more flexibility.
In recent days the employers’ camp has reacted negatively to union demands concerning subcontracting of harbour work. AKT wants subcontracting firms to apply the AKT labour contract, and demands that union representatives should have a say in the use of subcontractors.
Another labour dispute concerning warehouse terminals, and harbour employees of terminals in the forwarding business could start on Thursday if the sides to the dispute do not accept a mediation proposal by Lonka today.
