UPDATE: Transport strike over

Mediation proposal accepted by both sides

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A strike by bus and lorry drivers which began Tuesday evening, has come to an end. Both the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) and the Employers’ Federation of Road Transport (ALT) agreed to a mediation proposal by National Conciliator Esa Lonka.
      The stoppage came to an end with immediate effect. However, it will take some time before normal schedules are restored.
      Timo Räty, President of the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT), says that schedules should be nearly back to normal by Thursday morning.
     
Morning commuter traffic was mostly calm in the Helsinki region on Wednesday morning, in spite of the strike affecting buses operated by private companies.
      The strike by the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) affected 35 bus companies around Finland, and also stopped the collection of refuse.
      The supply of food to stores was largely unaffected. Heikki Ropponen, deputy managing director of the Federation of Finnish Commerce said that food transport is mostly in the hands of small transport companies, whose vehicles are owner-operated.
      Finnish industry had feared serious problems from a lorry strike. The forest industry expected to run out of chemicals, and the construction industry will run out of materials if the stoppage was prolonged.
     
More than half of all bus routes in the Helsinki region were not being driven during the stoppage. Buses of Helsingin bussiliikenne, which operates mainly inside Helsinki, as well as a number of other companies operating in Helsinki and Espoo also ran on Wednesday morning.
      Trams, trains, and the Helsinki Metro are also unaffected - except that numbers of passengers are expected to be higher than usual.
      A few buses on bus lines affected by the strike were driven by management staff.
     
Buses serving Helsinki-Vantaa Airport - both the municipal lines 615, 415, and 61 and Finnair’s own airport buses were also affected although some of the Finnair buses were driven by management staff.
      Larger numbers of passengers were seen on local trains.
     
Efforts to resolve the labour dispute resumed in the morning. National Conciliator Esa Lonka submitted a new mediation proposal, which was accepted by both sides in the afternoon.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Transport strike to stop about half of Helsinki regional bus transport and most refuse disposal (2.3.2010)
  Bus and lorry strike postponed past winter holidays of Southern Finland (19.2.2010)

Links:
  Helsinki Region Transport - Services during strike
  Matkahuolto

Helsingin Sanomat