HELSINKI: The dispute between icebreaker crews and Arctia Shipping has been resolved after 18 days just in time to avoid large-scale support action. Maritime unions had been prepared to shut all Finnish ports if no deal was reached, shutting down cargo and passenger transport on Thursday afternoon.
The agreement was announced by the national labor conciliator Minna Helle on Twitter. It brings to an end months of negotiations over the icebreaker crews’ terms and conditions. Shutdown of Finnish maritime traffic may affect 100,000 passengers, Finland wants to sell on-order icebreaker.Unions had wanted guarantees that the collective agreements were generally binding on all companies in the sector, and the final agreement states that a board can adjudicate on that question.The conciliator disclosed that both sides had moved their positions in the final hours of the dispute.“Otherwise this agreement wouldn’t have been possible,” said Helle, who also acknowledged that the prospect of broad disruption to passenger traffic had helped spur an agreement.
