The shop steward for the Röyttä harbour, Jarmo Pekkarinen says he has received a personally addressed threat letter from a Russian shipping company through a legal firm. The Transport Workers Union AKT made the decision to go on strike after the letter was allegedly received.
Pekkarinen has refused to reveal the letter’s precise contents, but describes the message as crystal clear. He says the threat is directed at his person specifically.
“We’ve been in the midst of a smaller strike on a ship in the Röyttä harbour,” Pekkarinen explains. “It has now stood in the docks for 12 days straight, and then I got this threatening letter.”
"Slave labour"
Pekkarinen claims that the ship was subject to a strike because the Russian crew’s contractual details were not in order. The stevedores in Tornio went on strike to encourage the commencement of negotiations for proper contracts.
“We think, as many do, that this ship is using crew members as slave labour, and we’re keen to support all actions towards establishing aboveboard agreements,” Pekkarinen said. He was not yet able to comment on how the situation is to unfold following the day-long work stoppage. “We shall see,” he said. “We’ll sit today out and look at the facts again tomorrow.”