Recently, Maersk issued an emergency notice stating that the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) plans to hold a strike from March 11 to March 25, which will force all Finnish ports to close for two weeks.

Source: Maersk official website

Maersk pointed out in the announcement that the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) announced a political strike to oppose the amendments to . The two-week political strike will affect operations at all Finnish ports. The strike will also broadly affect Finland's industrial and service sectors.

The strike will last from 6am on Monday, March 11 to 6am on Monday, March 25. This means that all .

Maersk added in the announcement that it will provide customers with further impact of the strike on Maersk's branch line operations as soon as possible in the next few days.

According to foreign media reports, the strike was organized to oppose amendments to labor legislation proposed by the Finnish government. Its purpose was to stop cargo transportation at the port and disrupt freight rail services. The agency estimates that approximately 7,000 employees will participate in the strike.

Regarding the strike, industry associations such as the Finnish Forest Industry, the Finnish Technology Industry and the Finnish Chemical Industry strongly criticized the new round of strikes as irresponsible. Closing the ports for two weeks is such a draconian measure that these companies will no longer be able to recoup the resulting losses. The joint statement said the strike posed a serious threat to the Finnish economy and caused irreparable damage.

With Finnish industry shrinking, the strike could lead to further layoffs and send the wrong signal to potential foreign investors, as export companies see fewer orders and shrinking production. Finland is in recession but the economies of Norway, Sweden and Denmark are growing, the industry association said, adding that the current announcement showed the need to limit Finland's political right to strike.

Source: Maritime Executive

Foreign trade and freight forwarding logistics companies that have recently traded with Finland must pay more attention to the delays and impact of the strike on cargo transportation.