page_title: Sandvikens Skeppsdocka och Mekaniska Verkstad
section_title: Strikes and changes in political environment
hierarchical_section_title: Sandvikens Skeppsdocka och Mekaniska Verkstad / Early 20th century / Strikes and changes in political environment
caption_attribution_description: English: Östra Skärgården in Helsinki.
context_page_description: Aktiebolaget Sandvikens Skeppsdocka och Mekaniska Verkstad was a Finnish shipbuilding and engineering company that operated in Helsinki in 1895–1938. The company was set up to continue shipbuilding at Hietalahti shipyard, after its predecessor Helsingfors Skeppsdocka, which operated the yard in 1865–1895, had bankrupted.
  The company portfolio consisted building and repairing of ships, production of tram and railway wagons, boilers, steam and combustion engines, winches and other products. Before and during the First World War the main customers were the Imperial Russian Navy and the Finnish State Railways. Following the Finnish Declaration of Independence in 1917, the Finnish Civil War broke out in 1918. The yard was closed until the Red Guards had left the city.
  Due to recession in shipbuilding the company owners decided to sell the shares to another Helsinki engineering company, Kone- ja Siltarakennus in 1926. In 1935 Kone- ja Siltarakennus was taken over by Wärtsilä, which amalgamated Hietalahti Shipyard and Engineering Works into its own organisation. The yard continued operating under name Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard after that.
context_section_description: The first years of the 20th was time of increased labour movement activity; also the yard and engineering shop workers were dissatisfied to their working conditions. The daily working time was long and salaries low, and in change of lot of responsibility the workers had hardly any rights. The first notable strike took place in 1902, when the yard smiths were striking for one month. The action did not lead to favourable results for the workers; instead of reaching a collective agreement, each worker made a personal contract with the employer.
  The early 1900s were also politically turbulent due to the russification policy the Empire applied on its autonomous Grand Duchy. This culminated to assassination of governor-general Bobrikov in 1904. In the same year the Russo-Japanese War broke out, and this led to increased order intake from the Russian military.
  In July 1906 metalworkers went to a general strike which lasted until November, when a collective agreement was reached. Another strike followed in January 1909 and lasted until March, apart from foundry workers who returned to work in April, and steel plate workers who came back in May.
  Orders from the Imperial Russia reduced again in 1910 when the Empire re-established its pressure policy towards Finland. The company managed to get sufficiently orders from private companies of Russia to compensate the decline in public newbuilding projects. Moreover, the company got a lot of repair projects from the Imperial Russian Navy.
caption: Passenger ship Östra Skärgård built in 1903–1904.
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