According to the parties to the dispute, the Finnish Transport Workers Union AKT and the Finnish Port Operators Association, resumption of the negotiations is entirely in the hands of National Conciliator Esa Lonka.
Lonka told YLE on Sunday only that no arrangements have been made to reconvene the talks. The main disagreement involves severance pay.
Because of the strike, a number of paper mills have been closed due to a lack of warehouse space. Under normal conditions, paper is shipped directly to ports for loading onto cargo vessels.
Other sectors may have to lower or close down production soon as well. The technology industry is largely dependent on imported parts. Last week, the Outokumpu steel company announced that it may have to stop production of stainless steel and ferrochrome.
Transport Workers' Union Chairman Timo Räty says that a settlement cannot be expected until the conciliator invites more parties to the talks. He noted that agreements in the sector have always been reached when representatives of the main labour federation or employers’ grouping have been involved.
In particular, Räty would like to see the involvement of the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, because he claims that the Finnish Port Operators' Association is not in fact empowered to make a deal with his union.
The Association's CEO Juha Mutru rejected Räty's claim and said his group is fully empowered to make an agreement.