Estonia, Labour Unions, Legislation, Transport

"The transport workers union is not afraid of the potential 'yellow' employer union because both in the bus sector in general as well as at Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS union penetration and awareness and activeness of employees are high already now," ETTA board chairman Jaan-Hendrik Toomel told BNS on Thursday.

He said a union like this would be unlawful and the International Labor Organization (ILO) has interfered on repeated occasions in situations like this. It is definitely not possible for a collective agreement to be concluded between the Union of Estonian Automobile Enterprises and a union like this, he added.

"The transport union continues to regard the Union of Estonian Automobile Enterprises as constructive social partner with regard to whom a major campaign of manipulation of influencing has been launched, unfortunately," Toomel added.

The Union of Estonian Automobile Enterprises announced on Thursday that it is planning to support the establishment of a new trade union and is ready to terminate the extended pay accord concluded with ETTA.

"To control arbitrary action by ETTA, employees have decided to set up an independent trade union of transport workers whose statutes would rule out manipulating with their rights. As an extreme measure, the Union of Estonian Automobile Enterprises is ready to terminate the extended pay agreement concluded with ETTA and start cooperation with the new social partner," director of the industry body Villem Tori said, citing strikes at GoBus, which according to the industry body could have been avoided, as well as what the the industry body described as intentional foiling of pay negotiations at the city of Tallinn public transport company Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS, where the board of ETTA expelled from the union the employee representative Alexander Martynenko.