The Minister of Labor has postponed the service, school and kindergarten strike in the municipalities of the Helsinki metropolitan area for two weeks. Tuula Haatainen (SDP).
The strike was scheduled to begin on April 19, but the Finnish national labor mediator asked Haatainen to postpone it.
As a result, the one-week strike is now scheduled to begin on May 3 if no agreement is reached before that date.
The strike, organized by the public sector unions Juko and JAU, aims to put pressure on employers to resolve contractual disputes, mainly over employee pay programs.
The planned measure would affect approximately 31,000 local residents in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen. During the strike, primary schools and most kindergartens in Helsinki and Espoo would remain closed.
There are currently about 46,000 students in basic education in Helsinki and more than 30,000 in Espoo.
Chairman of the Education Union (OAJ) Olli Luukkainen, said he believed keeping schools and primary schools open was the main reason for postponing the strike. According to Luukkainen, the postponement showed the central role of teachers in the functioning of society.
"I hope that this will be taken into account in collective bargaining," Luke added.
In a press release Thursday, the National Conciliator Vuokko Piekkala said the situation was serious and that he was pleased that the conciliation board had more time to deal with the matter.
By law, a national mediator can postpone a strike for up to two weeks.
The conciliator or the conciliation board may submit a motion to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy to postpone the strike if the strike threatens to affect the critical infrastructure of society or substantially impair the public interest.
Source: The Nordic Page
