Gothenburg labour talks resume

APM Terminals Gothenburg has faced a series of strikes organised by the union, who is reportedly pushing for rights beyond those granted to unions covered by collective bargaining agreements at the port.

Speaking to Port Strategy, APMT chief executive Henrik Kristensen said: “The main issue here is that we have offered exactly the same terms to dock workers with and without a collective bargaining agreement. Hamn 4:an claims that they don’t have the same rights – they do, but they want more and we cannot give them more than Swedish Ports Association have already agreed with other unions nationwide.”

One sticking point has been the looming shortage of labour in Sweden over the summer months as a result of extended leave through July and August. “We are not a factory, we are a service provider and we cannot stop servicing a ship,” said Mr Kristensen.

“Either the union will need to provide labour on overtime or we will need to hire pooled labour to operate our equipment. We are trying to find a way where the customer will not suffer, for the summer but also more long term.

“We are open to discussions to find ways forward together where we can show that we can be more flexible to the customer and remain cost competitive on our product,” said Mr Kristensen.