Transport, Railroad Unions Begin Training for Strike
Two major unions - the Transport and Road Workers Trade Union and the Railroad Workers Union - will this week hold joint training to prepare its members for the coming strike and demonstrations.
One-day training seminars will be conducted all week in nine cities and towns - Pärnu on Monday, Tallinn on Tuesday, Narva on Wednesday, and Tartu on Thursday. In each city, 20 to 30 strike leaders will be trained.
The Trade Unions' Confederation strike goes from March 5 to 9.
The main emphasis of the strike is to protest reforms to the collective agreements law as well as to support an upcoming teachers strike.
Under the new collective agreement law, a contract becomes indefinite by default when it expires. But whereas the current law makes the terms of the agreement binding after that time, the amended version allows an employer to cancel the contract unilaterally.
Last week, citing public pressure, Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee altered its draft amendments, mandating that parties give at least six month's notice before unilaterally pulling out of an indefinite agreement.
Ott Tammik