Finnish transport workers to strike

Helsinki - Finnish bus commuters face disrupted services starting Tuesday evening when members of the Transport Workers' Union (AKT) go on strike following failed wage mediation efforts. The industrial action affects two-thirds of regional bus links and a similar portion of the bus services in the capital, Helsinki, operated by private transport companies.

Other areas impacted by the strike include fuel transports - including to petrol stations and airlines - as well as garbage collection, and in a few days supermarkets expect fruit and dairy products to be in short supply.

Some 12,000 members of the AKT union were to join the strike.

Bus services operated by municipalities were not to be affected.

In the Helsinki area, the metro, trams and commuter trains were also not impacted.

Taxi companies said they planned to mobilize all available drivers and advised potential customers to telephone taxi stands or pre-book rides.

The Employers' Federation of Road Transport (ALT) has said the union's wage demands were too high, while the AKT union rejected the national conciliator's bid.

The employers' said the bid would give wage increases of 2 to 3 per cent during a two-year period while the transport workers' union said the rise was some 0.30 per cent in the first year.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/312040,finnish-transport-workers-to-strike.html.