Nurses withdraw strike, mull mass resignations

Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy) and Finnish Union of Practical Nurses (SuPer) on Tuesday decided to withdraw their second phase strike scheduled for Wednesday following the obligation in the proposed Labour Act, which could force striking nurses to return to work.

Leaders of the unions, however, warned of mass resignations instead of strike sensing the motive of Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Aki Lindén to take the proposed Patient Safety Act to the parliament, said Tehy in a press release.

About 25,000 nurses and healthcare personnel on April 1 started work abstentions in six hospital districts- Helsinki and Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa, Southwest Finland, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and Central Finland to press home their demand for a formal agreement on the terms of continuing urgent care.

The unions were scheduled to go for tougher industrial action from Wednesday but on Tuesday they became clear that the draft law is going to the parliament and preparing for the mass resignations.

In addition, Tehy and SuPer will declare a ban on overtime and shift work for the municipal sectors (KVTES, SOTE agreement) from 6.00 am on Wednesday.

“Minister Lindén has intervened in the legal strike in a rough way and has stood firmly on the employer's side at the negotiating table. ….The organizations must now move to more robust measures and preparing for the mass resignation, Millariikka Rytkönen, Tehy's chairman said in a statement issued in Finnish on Tuesday.

Silja Paavola, Chairperson of SuPer, also criticized the move to enact the Forced Labour law.

“Achieving a good agreement is the priority. The shortage of nurses will never be solved by forced labor or by threatening it,” she said.

Meanwhile, the municipal employers' group (KT) chief Markku Jalonen criticised the decision of mass resignations taken by the unions. The KT in a statement also termed the decision as “completely Irresponsible”

Earlier on April 1, Tehy and SuPer called the strike from 6;00 am.