Unions have continued this week with extensive political strikes. They are not planned for the winter holiday weeks, several unions say.
Extensive strikes are not likely to mess up the plans of winter vacationers. A few trade unions tell STT that they are not planning industrial action for the upcoming winter holiday weeks.
However, there is no certainty that vacationers will be spared the effects of extensive strikes. For example, the Service Industries Trade Union Pam did not want to comment on its plans for the coming weeks to STT on Thursday.
The school winter vacation season starts next week in stages, so that southern Finland is the first to go on vacation. Next week, the holidays will start in central Finland, and the last holiday shift will be northern and eastern Finland.
Chairman of the car and transport industry workers union AKT Ismo Kokko says that the union has not planned strikes or other industrial action for the ski holiday weeks. So far, there are no decisions or plans for new strikes, he says.
“We'll see how the situation develops. We really hope that the government listens to us in these matters”, says Kokko to STT.
Winter vacationers travel would be affected if AKT's bus drivers and maintenance repair shop workers were on strike. The possible labor disputes of the union's flight attendants, flight attendants, aircraft refuelers and airport bus drivers would in turn affect air traffic.
In principle, it would be possible for the unions to organize short industrial action, such as work stoppages or walkouts, which would not significantly hinder the vacationers' plans. According to AKT's Koko, these are not very suitable for the union's fields.
“Flight attendants can't take a couple of hours off work on the plane,” he gives an example.
Since last autumn, the trade unions have organized various work stoppages and other industrial action as a protest Petteri Orpon (kok) for the government's social security cuts and the weakening of working life.
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“Hopefully, the government will agree and through that all parties will start to find a solution together.”
This week, a broad political strike has, among other things, had a strong impact on train and bus traffic and closed some kindergartens.
The political strikes are part of SAK's Painava syy campaign, which was started last fall.
Neither The railway union RAU is not planning strikes for the winter holiday weeks. Chairman of the board of RAU Markku Lehtinen says that the union does not want to cause inconvenience to vacationers.
RAU represents locomotive drivers and railway traffic controllers. The RAU members were on strike for two days in stages from the beginning of the week, which had a strong impact on VR's traffic, among other things. On Monday, a strike by RAU and the Union of Public and Welfare Sectors JHL stopped train traffic in Finland.
Lehtinen says that the union has not planned short protests or local strikes for the winter holiday weeks either. Organizing such would be difficult.
“Even a small march out usually causes the traffic to be confused for a longer time,” Lehtinen tells STT.
Lehtinen hopes that the parties could find a solution in genuine negotiations.
“Hopefully, the government will agree and through that all parties will start to find a solution together.”
Strike plans neither has JHL for the winter holiday weeks. The president of the union Håkan Ekström says that no decisions have been made in the union about the “next wave”.
JHL members work in rail, air and local transport, for example.
Additional measures are coming during the spring, Ekström tells STT, but he considers it unlikely that they will be placed during the winter holiday weeks, unless something dramatic happens.
Not a single industrial action in the union is planned for the next few weeks. However, Ekström says that it is “completely possible” that spontaneous walkouts are organized at the association level without the union's decision behind them.
“They probably won't be any wider, but they can be visible in the localities where they are organized,” he says.
Ekström according to the situation between the government and the labor market organizations still seems to be locked. In his opinion, Yle's A-studio on Wednesday evening showed that the parties, between whom dialogue should be established, have not been able to “get terribly close”. A-studio's guest was the chairman of SAK Jarkko Eloranta and the Minister of Labour Arto Satonen (cook).
“If this situation continues”, we can expect even stronger measures than what has been seen so far.
He did not comment to STT on what more serious actions could be.
“They are still on the planning table. They are introduced in a situation where this tension continues and the country's government stubbornly sticks to its own policies. Then the actions are ahead, completely possible and I would say even probable.”
PAM's communications told STT on Thursday that the chairman Annika Rönni-Sällinen now comment on the union's strike plans for the coming weeks.
STT did not reach the chairman of the Aviation Union Juhani Haapasaarti on Thursday.
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