On 9 November 2004, the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto, AKT) began a strike at Connex and Concordia, two multinational bus companies operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The strike was a protest against increases in 'atypical' employment in these companies, in particular against the hiring of part-time workers. AKT argued that the sectoral collective agreement had been violated and wanted to negotiate on the matter with the Road Transport Employers’ Federation of (Autoliikenteen Työnantajaliitto, ALT). The latter, however, did not agree to talks, insisting that agreements had been honoured and that new conditions would not be negotiated in the middle of the current agreement's term, which does not end until 2006.
Industrial action spread in Finland's transport sector in November 2004, in a dispute over part-time recruitment at two bus companies. The Confederation of Finnish Industries responded by halting the current national incomes policy negotiations for five days until the strikes had ended.
On 9 November 2004, the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto, AKT) began a strike at Connex and Concordia, two multinational bus companies operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The strike was a protest against increases in 'atypical' employment in these companies, in particular against the hiring of part-time workers. AKT argued that the sectoral collective agreement had been violated and wanted to negotiate on the matter with the Road Transport Employers’ Federation of (Autoliikenteen Työnantajaliitto, ALT). The latter, however, did not agree to talks, insisting that agreements had been honoured and that new conditions would not be negotiated in the middle of the current agreement's term, which does not end until 2006.
On the second day of the strike, the Labour Court ruled against AKT and declared the strike unlawful. Despite this, AKT decided to extend the strike to cover bus companies in five other cities around Finland. Furthermore, sympathy strikes were later started at the Port of Helsinki and at a tanker lorry company, ADR Haanpää, which handles most of the chemical deliveries to industrial companies throughout the country. In these circumstances, the employers’ central organisation, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto, EK) decided on 16 November 2004 to halt the negotiations over a new national incomes policy agreement that had begun on 2 November 2004 (FI0411201N). It argued that it could not continue the talks when illegal industrial action was spreading across the country, because one of its key objectives in the negotiations is to limit strike rights .
Following the decision by EK, the central social partners stepped up their efforts to bring the strike to an end so that the incomes policy negotiations could be resumed. This was achieved on 21 November 2004 when AKT accepted an offer made the day before by ALT to start negotiations on the terms of employment at the two bus companies. The firms have furthermore promised to offer all their part-time workers full-time contracts. On the same day that the strike came to an end, the central social partners resumed the incomes policy negotiations.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2004), Incomes policy negotiations interrupted by strikes, article.
