Finnish laundry jobs threatened

Estonia competes with low wages

(Helsinki 11.09.2003 - Juhani Artto) About 4,000 people work in Finnish laundries, but many of these jobs are now under threat. The low wages in Estonia, which is just across the Gulf of Finland and only a few hours sailing from Helsinki, pose a difficult challenge to Finnish workers.

Recently one of the biggest users of laundry services, the Silja Line passenger ferry company, relocated its laundry services from Finland to the Estonian capital Tallinn. This followed a successful tender from the Granlund laundry service. Dozens of jobs may be lost in Finland because of this.

In autumn several large hotel chains will negotiate new laundry service contracts. Finnish workers now fear the loss of more work to competitors in Estonia. Some if these competitors are subsidiaries of enterprises based in Finland.

Read more about the Estonian challenge to Finnish workers on Trade Union News from Finland.