YTN and Pro have scheduled their strikes for the same three-day period, the latter revealing that roughly 5,000 senior managerial staff would be participating. The unions also announced extensive overtime bans that came into effect yesterday or today.
Employees broke off on Monday, citing unbridgeable disagreements about wage increases, and broke off negotiations on new collective bargaining agreements in the chemical and technology industries. Negotiations in the technology industry are relevant for all wage earners as the industry typically sets the so-called general pay rises that are adopted in other industries.
Riku Aalto, the chairperson of the Industrial Union, said employer representatives have refused to take soaring consumer prices into account when scaling wage increases.
Our patience has been exhausted. He stated in a press release on Monday that there was clear that we cannot make progress through negotiations at this point in the round of collective bargaining negotiations.
The ability of workers to cope with day-to- day costs is challenged by rising prices. Wage increases are necessary because living is more expensive. People have to be able to get by on their wages. The Industrial Union, along with other member unions of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK, declared in December that they are seeking wage increases in the ballpark of five per cent for this year.
Attempts to settle the differences between employer and employee organisations will resume on Wednesday under the guidance of the National Conciliator.
Jarkko Ruohoniemi, CEO of Technology Industry Employers, told Helsingin Sanomat that employers have made all possible concessions in the negotiations without compromising the competitiveness of businesses excessively.
We are talking about our concern for the competitiveness of companies. We can't make more concessions to move forward without endangering it. The demands of the other side are so harsh that we can't give in to them. According to the daily newspaper, further strike warnings are possible as soon as this week. Service Union United PAM and Finnish Transport Workers Union AKT have already announced they are preparing to take industrial action in co-operation with the Industrial Union.