The claim comes after the union fired its communications chief Hilkka Ahde, who is pursuing charges against Räty for harassment.
Some 40 members of the union’s staff staged a walkout on Monday morning in protest against the sacking of Ahde.
Ahde was given notice on Friday after the union cited a lack of trust as a reason for dismissal.
Hilkka Ahde is involved in an ongoing legal battle with union chairman Timo Räty. She has accused him of harassment in the workplace. The Southern Finland Regional State Administration Agency examined the case last autumn and asked the police to start an investigation into the matter.
”Proceedings are still going on and the union’s decision came like a bolt from the blue after the meeting,” she told YLE.
This is not the first time that relations between Räty and Ahde have come to the attention of the Transport Workers’ Union executive board.
Ahde now says that she will challenge her dismissal in court. In a statement released on Saturday, she described Räty's actions as "exceptionally outrageous".
Union federation calls for speedy resolution
The chairman of the nation's main labour union confederation SAK, Lauri Lyly, issued a condemnation of Ahde's dismissal, saying that the Transport Workers’ Union had violated the principles of the labour union movement in the affair.
Speaking on Monday, the blue-collar federation leader added the dispute harmed not only the union itself but the entire trade union movement. Lyly called for a speedy resolution to the dispute.
Earlier, Employment Minister Lauri Ihalainen also condemned the action by the Transport Workers' Union, calling it unacceptable. In a written statement to YLE, Ihalainen said that a dismissal during an ongoing investigation was an unacceptable action.
Räty and Shop Steward at loggerheads
Speaking in a YLE interview on Monday, Transport Workers' Union boss timo Räty denied any wrongdoing and again cited "a long-term lack of trust" as the reason for Ahde's dismissal.
In response, The union’s office Chief Shop Steward Jukka Kauppinen says Räty’s admission in Monday’s YLE interview that he had not spoken with the fired Communications Chief for two years was in itself evidence of harrassment. Kauppinen said not speaking to an employee fulfilled the criteria for incorrect behaviour.
Kauppinen also took issue with the claim of “long-term lack of trust” as the reason for Ahde’s dismissal. He noted that in addition to Räty, the other union executive members were all newly recruited with the exception of one.