JHL warns of 3-day strike at private social services sector on Feb 17-19

The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors-JHL on Thursday issued a strike warning concerning member companies of the Finnish Association of Private Care Providers (Hyvinvointiala HALI ry-Hali), said JHL in a press release.

The JHL decided to go for strike from February 17 to 19 as the negotiations on the collective agreement for the private social services sector with the employer’s association Hali ended on Wednesday without any fruitful result.

The strike applies to all work duties at selected locations particularly in Lapland and northern Ostrobothnia and in child welfare units.

In addition to this, the strike also applies to work duties of specific pay groups at all member companies of Hali.

The negotiations foiled because the parties disagree on developing the terms and conditions of employment in the sector and on the level of pay increases, said JHL, adding that the employer party has been unbending and offered pay increases that JHL finds insufficient.

JHL demands more substantial pay increases that can narrow unjustified differences in pay compared to similar work in the public sector.

“We cannot and will not stand by and watch as the employer party tries to introduce poorer terms and conditions of employment when the Government of Finland has already given a hard time to workers in the social services sector”, said JHL President Håkan Ekström in the press release.