Industrial Union starts series of strikes

The Industrial Union (Teollisuusliitto) has started a series of strike from early Monday night to press home its various demands including pay hike and contract solutions for the technology and chemical industry workers.

In first phase, the six-day strike started on January 27 and will continue till February 1.

Site-specific work stoppages will be observed in technology industry, chemical basic industry and in plastics and chemical products industry.

The strike concerns 50 companies and a total of 97 sites, employing a total of about 13,100 staff.

The workplace-specific work stoppages, however, will not be apply to emergency work or work that is essential to protecting life and health.

The dispute has arisen in the context of failure to reach a settlement in collective bargaining.

The sympathy industrial actions seek to boost and support the efforts of the Industrial Union to secure reasonable terms and conditions of employment for its members, with wage increases that will improve their purchasing power and strengthen their livelihoods, said the union.

The union also warned of enforcing strike from February 3 to February 8 affecting 63 enterprises in the technology and chemical industries in the second phase of the agitation programme unless its demands are not fulfilled by this time.

The strike will affect 50 enterprises in the technology and chemical industries.

The Union on Friday also warned of another five-day strike in the third phase from February 10.

The third phase strike warnings have been issued to 60 businesses in the technology and chemical industries. he businesses in question employ approximately 8,000 people between them.

Meanwhile, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Electrical Workers’ Union, the Construction Trade Union and Service Union United PAM already extended support to the strike called by the Industrial Union.

President of the Industrial Union Riku Aalto on Friday said that organisational measures are necessary to speed up negotiations. Collective agreement negotiations involving both technology and chemical industry workers have already been underway for several months.

“For the technology industry workers’ agreement alone, we have now met with the conciliator already thirteen times. Our goal is to reach agreements as quickly as possible to achieve industrial peace in the affected sectors and to allow the workplaces to focus on what matters,” Aalto said.

The Industrial Union has previously announced that its goal for the collective agreement negotiations is to secure a 10% pay rise for workers. This figure is needed to boost workers’ purchasing power in a climate where the cost of living has risen sharply in the last couple of years.

“We are negotiating collective agreements for our members, not centralised wage settlements. I want to emphasise that this is about finding the right solution for the industry. The pay increase level must be determined according to the requirements of the export industry,” Aalto added.