Lakot If the strike closes kindergartens and schools, what should the parent do? “It is hoped that this will be resolved without major disasters”

Next the strike in kindergartens and schools starting this week may know the difficulties for parents of young children.

The strike starts on Tuesday at least in the metropolitan area. The conciliation board that settled the municipal labor dispute said Thursdayit was unable to submit a conciliation proposal.

Read more: Strike by teachers and other municipal employees in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area begins next week: No settlement proposal submitted to municipal dispute

Read more: Schools and kindergartens threaten to close next week, as teachers also want more pay – This would affect the strike across Finland

If childcare is not arranged, it may be possible to stay home, albeit unpaid. This is what the General Counsel says Markus Äimälä Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK).

By law, an employee has the right to be away from work for compelling family reasons if his or her presence at home is necessary.

“It may come into question here if the care of a small child cannot be arranged in any other way,” says Äimälä.

In most in collective agreements, family reasons for absenteeism have not been agreed to be paid.

Employees also have the right to stay caring for a sore child under the age of 10. This has been agreed in most collective agreements as paid absence for at least a few days.

“That’s not suitable for this, because it’s not about sick children,” says Äimälä.

In practice However, Äimälä believes that the matter can be resolved flexibly in many workplaces. He mentions, for example, teleworking, to which many Finns have become accustomed in recent years.

“You can take care of a child and work at home at the same time. Of course, the success of its performance may depend on the age of the child. ”

According to Äimälä, other ways can be to take a holiday or change shifts. For some jobs, it may even be possible to bring a child with you for at least part of the day.

According to him, the workplace is more accustomed to flexibility than before, as the corona epidemic has exacerbated similar situations. Children may have had to be away from kindergarten or school, for example due to quarantine.

“If the same question had been asked five years earlier, companies would have been more finger-to-mouth.”

Next however, there is one major difference per week compared to corona absences. The closures of kindergartens and schools would affect all parents of young children at the same time.

There is little experience of this in the workplace, as teachers, for example, last went on strike in 1984.

How much trouble will the workplace be next week?

According to Äimälä, the matter is difficult to assess. It depends, for example, on the number of parents of young children in each workplace.

“Of course, this is being followed with great concern, but ways have been found quite flexibly in the past. It is hoped that this will be resolved without major catastrophes. ”

Is it is likely that if struck, the strike will mean the closure of kindergartens and schools. For example Espoo and Helsinki have already said they will close primary schools if the strike materializes.

Espoo also said it would close all kindergartens on Tuesday. On Wednesday, some of them will be opened.

Supervisors are responsible for arranging care, ie the heads of kindergartens, the chairman emphasizes Päivi Niemi-Laine Association of Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL).

“It’s not the responsibility of the employees,” he says.

According to Niemi-Laine, “probably every family will decide on the forms of care themselves” if early childhood education or education is not available for a small child.

JHL is one of the unions participating in the strike. This includes, for example, babysitters.