Labor Minister Arto Satonen (kok) was not surprised by the strike announcements. He hopes for patience from the unions and believes that the government's plans will not change working life as much as the trade unions see.
Minister of Labour Arto Satonen (kok) knew how to wait for industrial union announcements.
Several unions have reported this week about strikes affecting shops, industry and transport on land, sea and air at the beginning of February, among other things.
Cuts to social security and planned changes to legislation concerning working life are rubbing off on unions.
“Of course, these announcements did not come as a complete surprise,” Satonen says to Helsingin Sanomat.
However, the minister says that he is surprised that some of the strikes target the defense industry. The industrial union is on strike for example, ammunition manufacturer Nammo's factories.
“I don't see that these government reforms would have any effect on the defense industry, which is heavily invested in and which also has a labor shortage. If this were to be reflected in the deliveries to Ukraine, I would consider it unfortunate,” says Satonen.
Teollisuusliitto has stated that it would take the matter “seriously” if the authorities contacted the union and expressed their concerns about the effects of the strike in the defense industry.
Satonen according to the government considers the reforms opposed by the unions to be necessary for the Finnish economy.
“On the other hand, these strikes also show that we need rules for political strikes. We don't have them, although many other European countries do,” he says.
In the labor peace or strike legislation reform package that will be considered by the parliament in the spring, the legislation regarding sympathy strikes will be tightened and the duration of political industrial action will be limited to one day.
Political strikes in Finland have often lasted no more than a day. The February strike, on the other hand, would last longer in several sectors, i.e. two days.
“It should be noted that, for example, in industry, the effects of strikes are significantly longer than the actual duration of the strike. The economic effects are then also considerable, meaning that the payers of every wage earner suffer from them,” says Satonen.
Is the government considering welcoming the unions or starting negotiations, as the organizations have demanded?
“When we prepare laws in tripartite working groups, we do refine the details together and take into account the views of both wage earners and employers. But no one has the right to veto. I don't see it as possible or reasonable that we would negotiate separately with a single interest organization. But I emphasize that working groups have the opportunity to influence the details.”
So, new negotiations or countermeasures are not considered?
“Here [liitot] are not questioning some detail of an individual reform, but the government's line. And we see that line as necessary to achieve the employment goal. So I see this as difficult,” says Satonen.
The Minister of Labor also reminds that the government has hoped that the organizations would negotiate with each other, especially regarding the labor market model that rubs off on public sector unions.
“The negotiations broke down because [Suomen ammattiliittojen keskusjärjestö] SAK withdrew from them. I still hope that a way to negotiate would be found, and I have stated this most recently this week.”
New ones too there are still strikes to come. According to HS information, several unions will report on their actions next week.
How does the government prepare for the expansion of strikes?
“I would hope that the matter would now be approached with moderation. When the government's proposals are very quickly in parliament, we will see how much they actually change working life. I don't consider those changes impossible.”
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