Kihnu Veeteed strike called off after a three-year pay deal

The Estonian Seamen's Independent Union and ferry operator Kihnu Veeteed reached a collective agreement that calls off a strike planned for Friday 18 September. ERR reported the deal on 17 September 2026. There will be no service disruption for passengers.

Kihnu Veeteed connects Kihnu, Manilaid and Vormsi to the mainland, runs a Saaremaa–Hiiumaa link, and operates a freshwater route to Priisaar on Lake Peipus. Crews had been 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 26 July. The union had been seeking pay rises of 20–30 percent. The operator said its margins were too narrow to meet that.

Under the 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. The agreement stays in force for three years, or until Kihnu Veeteed stops operating its current ferry routes.

Jüri Lember, chair of the union, said: "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." He added: "The most important figure here is certainly the pay for deckhands, which is around €1,650."

Lember said the state has selected Tuule Liinid OÜ to take over the small-island routes from 2027, and that most of the current vessels and staff will switch over in any case. Just over half of the line's crew are members of the union.