WASHINGTON: Another 24-hour strike will hit the Port of Gothenburg, starting at 4 pm CET on Tuesday, according to a press release from APM Terminals in which the company informs that the talks between the terminal company and labor union Svenska Hamnarbetarförbundet have collapsed.
Negotiations between the two parties began on Wednesday last week, and as recently as Friday, word from the talks indicated that the negotiations were progressing in a constructive manner. But this was too optimistic, notes Henrik Kristensen, CEO of APM Terminals Gothenburg, in the press release.
“We quickly noted a very limited interest (to put it mildly) to agree on wording that could pave the way, once and for all, to finding a solution for how to work together to create a company based on customers’ wishes and which can be adapted to the seasons, climate, sick leave or vacations,” he says in the statement. Henrik Kristensen points out that when, in spite of the ongoing negotiations, it has not been possible to get the opposing party to even withdraw the threat of a strike, the chance of agreeing on the actual points of contention were somewhat limited.
