The Union of Industrial and Metalworkers' Trade Unions of Estonia (IMTAL) has today given notice to the Rakvere Meat Processing Plant of an indefinite strike, which will start at 7.30am on 6 February.

Workers at the Rakvere slaughterhouse are demanding a 16% increase in basic wages from 1 February 2018 and a further 16% from 1 July 2018. They are also demanding that no changes be made to the way in which performance-based wages are calculated.

According to Artyom Arkhangelsky, Organising Secretary of the Estonian Trade Union Confederation, negotiations with employers on wage increases have been going on since October last year, but no positive results have been achieved.

"The workers made a number of compromise offers during the negotiations, which also did not satisfy the employers. The employers themselves did not make any proposals to increase wages," said Arkhangelsky, adding that the situation had not changed after the participation of the State Mediator in the negotiations.

"Since the employer did not accept the State Conciliator's proposal for a wage increase, the conciliation process was terminated without an agreement and a protocol of disagreement was drawn up, giving the workers the legal right to strike", says Arkhangelsky.