On Wednesday, was called Hamnarbetarförbundet all their members on strike from 6 march and until there is a collective agreement between them and the employer the Swedish Ports. The notice came as a response to the employer’s lockout, which apply from 6 march to 31 July.
Read more: Hamnarbetarförbundet announces general strike in the whole country
is the consequence of a future general strike has serious implications for port operations. In Gothenburg, one of Sweden’s largest ports for goods transport, to run the risk of being forced to shut down its three terminals completely.
– Ports that are severely affected will not be able to have any activity and the costs for the Swedish industrial companies are going to be very big, ” says Joakim Ärlund vice president’s head of negotiations at the Swedish Ports to the Arbetsmarknadsnytt.
the notice includes all of the work in the ports – even the passenger traffic to Finland and the Baltic countries. It has got the companies to begin to analyze the situation.
“We’re sitting right now and trying to build up a picture of the situation after Hamnarbetarförbundets answer they came up with yesterday,” says Oscar Brehmer, a communicator on the shipping company Tallink and Silja Line.
– Our routes go from Värtahamnen in Stockholm to Finland, Estonia and Latvia. But it is too early for us to see what and how we are affected by a strike, we are evaluating the situation in line with how it is developed.
Finland, the Baltic states and Russia, are also the Swedish hamnkonflikten carefully. But not where you know in the moment what the exact consequences of a strike. In the worst case, traffic may be stopped completely.
” We were completely surprised by the message that came from the tray yesterday, but looks förhoppningsfullt on a solution. A strike is not good for anybody, ” says Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, head of communications at Viking Line.
A large part of passagerarfärjorna on the Baltic sea carrying goods which can also be forced be set.
” We have 130 units per year, which handles the goods. So it is an integral part of our business, ” says Johanna Boijer-Svahnström.
Viking Line has just avoided a strike in the recently concluded wage negotiations with the Finnish Sjömansförbundet. Now sitting in the shipping company in the negotiations with the trade unions for machine and chefsbefäl in Finland. A strike among Swedish dock workers would therefore be good if it went to avoid, consider the Boijer-Svahnström.
“We know that it affects all Swedish ports and then it affects us,” she says.
Joakim Ärlund, it is possible to apply for exemption from the arbetsnedläggelsen but it is something that in this case the union must take a position, write Arbetsmarknadsnytt.