Sides in aviation dispute said to remain far apart

An air traffic controller at Helsinki's Malmi airfield.

Image: YLE

Air travel into, out of and over Finland may be disrupted beginning on Tuesday morning if no deal is reached in the long-running air traffic controllers' contract dispute. Talks resume on Sunday evening.

Harri Hietala, deputy chair of the Service Sector Employers' organization, PALTA, told YLE on Sunday that the two sides remain far apart.

He accused the employees' side of being unclear about its wage demands, saying they could add up to five or six percent annually, with as many as half of workers getting higher raises based on specific duties. The management side says it is offering an annual increase of two and a half to three percent.

The Finnish Air Traffic Controllers Association declined to comment on its wage demands.

"We are demanding an across-the-board raise as well as task-specific increases," said union leader Antero Utunen. "For instance, instructors at Avia College [a training facility run by Finavia in Vantaa] are not covered by this contract. They do the same work but at different wages." 

Source:  http://www.yle.fi