Thousands attend a labor protest at the Senate Square in Helsinki on February 2, 2018. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today

Service Union United PAM will start political industrial action on Wednesday, October 3. The industrial action is starting because the Finnish government has not withdrawn its draft law weakening protection against dismissal.

The objective of the industrial action is to prevent protection against dismissal being weakened in companies with less than 20 employees. There will be a political strike in certain locations on October 3, 2018, from 00:00 – 24:00, or until the end of a work shift that started before midnight, in work functions in the following collective agreements:

• Hospitality collective agreement – supervisors

• Hospitality collective agreement – employees

• Facility services sector employees collective agreement

• Security guarding collective agreement

Also, the Service Union United overtime ban will start on October 3, 2018, at 00:00 and continue until October 23, 2018, at 24:00. During the overtime, ban employees do not work overtime. Overtime is always voluntary for an employee. Once the overtime ban has started, employees affected by it exercise this right and refuse to work overtime if offered by their employer.

In a bulletin, PAM says that “if the government does not withdraw its plans to weaken the dismissal protection, it will extend its industrial action measures.”

“We have to act now when the planned amendment to the Employment Contracts Act is only being prepared and it is possible to stop it!” PAM says.

”Less than substantive negligence and inappropriate behaviour would be enough if such behaviour destabilises the trust relationship between the employer and the employee or complicates the activities of the employer or the working community.”
The government

The government's proposal
The Sipilä government announced in spring that it will start preparations for amending the Employment Contracts Act, aimed at easing the dismissal criteria in small companies. In the draft amendment, new rules are being planned for individual dismissals in businesses employing 20 people or less.
Current legislation
At the moment, an employee may be legally dismissed if he or she violates or neglects the essential duties of the employment relationship, or if there is a significant change in the employee’s ability to work so that the employee no longer copes with his or her duties. Now the government envisages that ”less than substantive negligence and inappropriate behaviour would be enough if such behaviour destabilises the trust relationship between the employer and the employee or complicates the activities of the employer or the working community”. Another condition would be that continuing the employment relationship would not be seen as reasonable, from the point of view of the employer. .
New proposal in practice
Now the government envisages that ”less than substantive negligence and inappropriate behaviour would be enough if such behaviour destabilises the trust relationship between the employer and the employee or complicates the activities of the employer or the working community”. Another condition would be that continuing the employment relationship would not be seen as reasonable, from the point of view of the employer.

affected by overtime ban

  • Alko Oy shop employees collective agreement
  • Pharmacy employees collective agreement Customer service and telemarketing sector collective agreement
  • Avecra train service personnel collective agreement
  • Bingo employees collective agreement
  • Cinema collective agreement Special industry collective agreement
  • Golf sector collective agreement
  • Hankkija Oy sales personnel protocol
  • Ski resort sector collective agreement
  • Hairdressing sector collective agreement Amusement, theme and adventure parks collective agreement
  • Retail ICT clerical staff collective agreement
  • Retail collective agreement
  • Facility services sector employees collective agreement
  • Household appliances and equipment servicing and service machine collective agreement
  • Photofinishing labs collective agreement
  • Hospitality collective agreement – supervisors
  • Hospitality collective agreement – employees
  • Activity programme sector collective agreement
  • Finnish National Opera technical small groups and technical supervisors and technical experts collective agreement
  • Finnish National Opera technical and administrative collective agreement
  • Warehousing and transport supervisors collective agreement
  • Veikkaus employees collective agreement
  • Retail supervisors collective agreements
  • Joint agreement YLE

excluded from overtime ban

  • Reproduction and printing sector collective agreement
  • Makuuni Oy collective agreement
  • Sales promoters company-specific collective agreements
  • Removal services sector collective agreement
  • Framework agreement
  • Martti Porthan Ltd organ-building factory employees collective agreement
  • Veikko Virtanen Ltd organ-building factory employees collective agreement
  • Organisation officials association collective agreement
  • Security guarding sector collective agreement
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