A VR train at a rail yard in Helsinki on 11 December 2023. Strikes by several trade unions are expected to cause a wide range of disruptions in Finland on Thursday, including the halting of most rail services in the country. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)
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POLITICAL STRIKES by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and its member unions are expected to cause a range of disruptions in Finland on Thursday, 14 December.
Jarmo Ainasoja, the director of risk management and business continuity at Posti, on Monday said in a press release that although the strikes will affect mail and parcel deliveries, they should not have an impact on the delivery of cards, letters and parcels for Christmas.
“Because it is a short-term disruption, we estimate that Posti’s services can be normalised quickly after the work stoppages,” he said.
The strikes will also affect the rail services of VR, tram and metro services in Helsinki, intercity public transport services in Tampere and Turku, and the operations of Turku Airport.
Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday reported that the Finnish Transport Workers’ Union (AKT) is planning a strike that would severely disrupt bus services in large cities across Finland on Thursday. Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) has estimated that simultaneous strikes in rail and road transport would effectively result in the cancellation of all public transport services in the capital region.
The strikes will stop electricity generation for a day at power plants in, for example, Espoo, Järvenpää, Naantali, Pietarsaari, Suomenoja and Tampere. Jukka Ruusunen, the managing director of Fingrid, on Friday stated to Helsingin Sanomat that the strike is likely remove about 100 megawatts of electricity from the market, adding that the drop in production should not have a major impact on electricity prices.
The Finnish Industrial Union has reported that about 40,000 of its members will be participating in strikes at 457 sites across the country, including paper mills and other large production facilities. The stoppages will also impact the production facilities of Fazer and Valio, and the logistics centres of Kesko, Lidl and S Group.
Also affected will be food services in some schools and kindergartens, cleaning services in public facilities, waste and property management services, and physical activities in localities across Finland.
Alongside SAK, the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK), Trade Union Pro and Union of Professional Engineers have announced work stoppages for Thursday.
The industrial actions are an attempt to compel the government to call off a number of social security cuts and working life reforms, including increasing local bargaining, restricting the right to strike and slashing earnings-related unemployment security.
The Finnish government has been adamant.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has rejected the demand of trade unions to open the proposals for genuine negotiations and described the announced industrial actions as unreasonable in the economic situation. The government, he stressed, will continue moving forward with the reforms.
Minister of Employment Arto Satonen (NCP) similarly rejected the idea of a negotiation about the reforms.
“SAK has brought up unemployment security, industrial peace laws and local bargaining. All of these reforms are important for the economy and employment in Finland. You can propose changes to the details, but interest groups can’t have a veto right,” he remarked on X on
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
