The Finnish seamens' union, backed by the Federation of Transport workers, has imposed an embargo on three ships of the company Superfast Ferries which serve Hanko, in southern Finland, and Rostock in Germany. These ships has recently been bought by the Estonian sailing company Tallink, and registered under Estonian flag. This embargo, backed by Finnish dockers, has ended, following a wage agreement. (Ref. 06568)
The embargo lasted three days and ended after an agreement was signed between the Finnish seamen’s union and Tallink’s management. The conflict was due to the working conditions on board the ships. These ships were previously owned by a Greek company, which employed Greek, Finnish and German seamen. They were all replaced by Estonians and the average salary dropped by 75%.The conflict was also about working hours. Apparently, some seamen now work 20 hours a day because of a labor shortage.
Talli
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