The deal, reached following negotiations EMSA chair Jüri Lember described as "tense," means the strike planned for Friday, September 18, is off and there will be no service disruptions for passengers.

As recently as last week, crews working for Kihnu Veeteed, which connects the islands of Kihnu, Manilaid and Vormsi to the mainland, along with a Saaremaa–Hiiumaa link and a freshwater route to Priisaar on Lake Peipus, were preparing for a strike that would have disrupted services indefinitely. Talks had been stalled since March, and a one-hour warning strike was held on July 26.

EMSA had been seeking 20–30 percent pay rises, while Kihnu Veeteed said its margins were too narrow to meet that. Under the new agreement, employees get an agreed pay scale, options for an additional performance bonus of up to 5 percent, and a rise in the food allowance. From 2028, basic pay should rise in line with growth in Estonia's average gross monthly wage.

"We managed to get a pay scale included, meaning that new employees cannot be hired for a particular position at a rate below the monthly pay level we have agreed on," Lember said. "The most important figure here is certainly the pay for deckhands, which is around €1,650."

Lember said the strike had not been called for its own sake, but was the result of the other party being "not constructive, when specific figures are not discussed at the negotiating table or when the negotiations are simply not conducted in a serious manner."

The new collective agreement will remain in force for three years or until Kihnu Veeteed stops operating its current ferry routes. If a new operator takes over — the state has selected Tuule Liinid OÜ to take over the small-island routes from 2027 — Lember said most of the current vessels and staff will switch over in any case, which he said would be an easier move for employer and employee alike.

EMSA has also proposed concluding a sectoral collective agreement with the national shipowners' association, which, according to Lember, would apply to shipping companies operating ferry routes and regulate working hours and minimum permitted pay levels.

The protracted dispute even led to the formation of a breakaway union, which had been talking to Kihnu Veeteed. Just over half of the line's crew are EMSA members.

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