Strike action in municipal company to defend collective agreement

Finland

The JHL public services has organised strike action at the Arkea Oy municipal company, owned by the City of Turku. The union is challenging the company’s plans to switch employers' organisation and transfer around 1000 employees to a different collective agreement with poorer pay and conditions. Lower-paid workers could see their pay cut by 15%-30%. The city's group management has given the plan its blessing and discussions between the trade union JHL and Arkea have not yielded any results. The action began on 17 November with measures taken to ensure no risks to safety. The strike will affect the provision of meals to day care units, primary and vocational schools and upper secondary schools. The union says it is shocking that the City of Turku has allowed this and not put forward any solutions such as additional funding. This is the second time that JHL has had to take action to stop the company’s attacks on collective bargaining. 

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