The nurses’ strike, which began on Friday, April 1, in more than ten hospital districts will be postponed by two weeks, the mediator announced Monday.
The change came at the initiative of the Minister of Labor Tuula Haatainen (SDP) has decided that the strike will begin no earlier than April 15 at 6 p.m.
The planned strike will affect about 40,000 nurses and paramedics working in 13 different hospital districts.
Representatives of health workers Tehy and the Suurer Association (SuPer) have previously warned of a narrow strike starting on March 18, affecting some 25,000 nurses in six hospital districts, but the minister also postponed the strike for two. weeks.
A more limited strike is scheduled to begin on Friday, April 1 at 6pm, unless an agreement is reached on working conditions.
Tehy and SuPer unions have demanded 3.6 percent wage increases above annual cost-of-living increases over five years in an attempt to alleviate the profession’s low pay. Employer groups, local government and county employers (KT), have argued that union requirements are far too costly for the public sector.
Representatives of the RK met with members of Tehy and SuPer under the guidance of the National Mediator Vuokko Piekkala agree on. Now that the planned strike date has been postponed, there is more time for negotiations.
Piekkala described the situation as serious and added that the biggest disputes – about wages and employment conditions – remained unresolved.
If negotiations remain unresolved, wider disputes between health unions and employers’ representatives could spread further and affect more hospital districts across the country, including in the metropolitan area.
Source: The Nordic Page