On 4 and 5 August, over 1,000 employees at the Rautaruukki steel plant in Raahe participated in a two-day strike action. In doing so they demonstrated solidarity with the Polish workers who had been repairing a blast furnace at the plant since June. According to the Finnish Construction Trade Union, the Polish colleagues are victims of wage dumping, as they should be paid at least € 15.54 per hour but their actual wages are € 4 per hour or even less. The union holds that Beroa Deutschland, subcontracted to undertake the repair work, has committed itself to full compliance with the collective agreement, applicable to the tasks the Polish masons are performing, but that it has chosen to ignore the agreement in a flagrant manner. Beroa, whose headquarters are based in Spain, denies the union claims.
English: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/08/steel_workers_end_walk_out ...
http://www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2011/o29
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.