A failure in these negotiations could bring down the whole central incomes agreement, which the government has promised to sweeten with tax and other incentives.
However the head of the Employers’ Federation of Road Transport (ALT) was not optimistic as he arrived for talks in a windy Hakaniemi. Managing Director Hannu Parvela said there was no end in sight to the talks, which have dragged on for three days.
The president of the Transport Workers’ Union (AKT), Timo Räty, predicted that negotiations could once again drag late into the night. However he said he did not know of any issues that would definitely block a deal.
Later the ALT's Parvela told YLE that his "optimism was fading" about reaching a deal, alleging that the union was "negotiating with itself" and seeking pay increases above and beyond those agreed in the national framework deal.
The AKT's Räty insisted that the union is seeking a contract that falls within the framework, and that he hoped it would be reached during the evening hours.
Juha Mutru, the Managing Director of the Finnish Port Operators Association accused the AKT of refusing to negotiate and deliberating wasting time to push a decision to the eleventh hour.
Monday morning is considered the final deadline for an agreement. The boards of various labour market groups are said to be ready to meet on Monday morning to decide whether the national framework is sufficiently broad-based. The government is also expected to weigh the issue on Monday.