The two-day strikes in Kuopio and Tampere, called by Juko’s negotiating unit representing municipal employees, began at midnight on Tuesday and are due to end on Thursday.
Schools and libraries closed, other services with limited capacity
In Tampere and Kuopio, libraries and schools from primary to professional level are closed. In addition, doctor’s appointments at Tampere public health centers have been postponed or canceled. Kindergartens operate in a limited capacity in both cities. Services for the elderly continue to operate, as the strike excludes activities that could endanger the lives, health, safety or property of citizens.
Last week, Juko organized strikes in the cities of Oulu, Turku, Rovaniemi and Jyväskylä as the largest labor force activity in the municipal sector for decades.
If no agreement is reached on a new collective agreement for approximately 420,000 municipal sector employees by 18 April, the next strikes will be in Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen from 19 April to 25 April. Schools in the metropolitan area are likely to close if nearly 31,000 workers start a week-long strike.
The strike covers employees covered by the municipal general collective agreement (KVTES), the municipal teachers’ collective agreement (OVTES), the municipal doctor’s collective agreement (LS), the municipal technical collective agreement (TS) and the social and health sector collective agreement. Agreement (SOTE).
Conciliation Commission chaired by Elina PylkkänenUndersecretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor, was set up last Friday to mediate labor disputes in the municipal sector.
The Conciliation Committee met for the first time with the parties on Sunday. According to Pylkkänen, no appointments are allowed, but they can be arranged before Easter.
"We are now gathering information and mapping the situation. The economic outlook is very uncertain, so we must also seek the help of experts," Pylkkönen told STT on Monday.
Olli LuukkainenThe chairman of Yuko’s Board of Directors emphasized that no agreement could be reached in the labor dispute without a multi-year salary program.
"This year, a decent general increase and a multiannual wage program are needed to close the pay gap in the municipal sector compared to the private sector," Luukkainen said in a press release.
Source: The Nordic Page