Crippling 2-week port strike in Finland ends after mediation

2-week port strike in Finland ends

HELSINKI — Finland’s national conciliator says that a two-week port strike that shut down most of the country’s foreign trade has ended after unions and employers accepted a new labor contract.

Mediator Esa Lonka says the strike will end immediately. He gave no details of the new deal.

The strike began March 4 when stevedores stopped handling cargo at most Finnish ports. The action halted most of the country’s foreign trade in the highly export dependent economy.

The government said the strike was costing more than €100 million ($137 million) a day in lost earnings. Stevedores were expected to return to work later Friday or early next week, officials said.