Unclear and one-sided chan­ges in the strike legislation

Anna Tapio, head of the Industrial Union legal depart­ment, and union lawyer Susanna Holm­berg view the chan­ges as subs­tan­tial. The Govern­ment limi­ted poli­tical stri­kes to a maxi­mum of 24 hours, impo­sed severe restric­tions on sympathy stri­kes, and raised union strike fines.

– The emplo­yees’ possi­bi­lity to influence has been limi­ted really harshly, Tapio says.

In Finland, the number and frequency of poli­tical stri­kes has been margi­nal. Because of this reason, there is no clear case law, a prac­tice deve­lo­ped through court deci­sions. Howe­ver, poli­tical stri­kes did have some limits before, too.

– Where this limit would have been, we do not know, as poli­tical stri­kes have never been a problem, Holm­berg says.

In the case of so-called ille­gal stri­kes, the courts have usually impo­sed strike fines on the unions. Such stri­kes take place when there is a collec­tive agree­ment in place.

The emplo­yees’ possi­bi­lity to influence has been limi­ted really harshly.

The current right-wing Govern­ment increa­sed the union strike fines consi­de­rably. Now, the mini­mum is 10,000 euro and the maxi­mum 150,000 euro. Before, the maxi­mum was 37,400 euro with no mini­mum amount.

These ille­gal stri­kes usually take place in a situa­tion where the emplo­yer, often knowingly, viola­tes the collec­tive agree­ment. The new law did not raise the fine the emplo­yer must pay when viola­ting a collec­tive agreement.

– These legal chan­ges are alto­get­her one-sided, Holm­berg says.

As a comple­tely new inno­va­tion, the Orpo-Purra Govern­ment stipu­la­ted a perso­nal sanc­tion for an emplo­yee should he or she partici­pate in a strike that the court has ruled to be ille­gal and the emplo­yer has told this to him or her.

It is extre­mely rare that a strike that has been judged ille­gal is conti­nued. The purpose of the law is simply to create uncer­tainty as, in theory, a perso­nal fine is possible.

New law in the pipeline

This limit will be deter­mi­ned in due course if sympathy stri­kes are taken to court. Before that, no one knows for sure what  the limit is and there­fore if they have cros­sed it. Vague laws combi­ned with high union strike fines create a difficult situa­tion for the unions.

– Insecu­rity itself may limit union actions. One must be conscious of taking major risks, says Anna Tapio, head of the Industrial Union legal department.

The Govern­ment says it will draft a new law on protec­tion work. It means the work that should be conti­nued even in time of a strike to ensure that no harm is caused to people’s lives, health and the environment.

Thus far, unions have sought to exclude such jobs from strike action without trouble. Now, the plan­ned legis­la­tion may create problems.

Howe­ver, even with the new strike legis­la­tion, a single emplo­yee can secu­rely join a strike orga­ni­sed by the union. He or she cannot be dismis­sed for that. The union will support its members in court, if needed.