HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s industrial, logistics and electrical workers have agreed to extend strikes in protest against planned labour market reforms to a fourth week, the head of trade union association SAK said on Wednesday.
The workers have been on strike since March 11, targeting exports, imports and cargo transportation.
“The strikes will continue from Monday morning onwards for a week,” SAK President Jarkko Eloranta told Reuters. “We are trying to negotiate and compromise with the government but unfortunately there has been no response to these efforts.”
Several of Finland’s largest companies have said the strikes, which are disrupting ports and the rail system, are negatively affecting their operations.
Employers’ organisation EK said in a statement that SAK had not presented credible alternatives to the planned reforms. It estimated that the strikes had a negative effect on GDP of nearly 300 million euros ($325 million).
($1 = 0.9233 euros)
(Reporting by Essi Lehto, writing by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Jason Neely)
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