A strike has kicked off today (11 March) at bakeries in Finland, with sites operated by Fazer Group and Lantmännen affected.
The Finnish Food Workers’ Union (SEL) confirmed the industrial action in a statement after rejecting a wage and working hour proposal yesterday put forward by the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation (ETL).
SEL said the strike will last until just before midnight on Sunday local time in Finland, with almost 2,000 bakery workers taking part from 150 bakeries operated by Fazer, Lantmännen and Vaasan.
In a strike warning notice issued in February, SEL detailed the affected bakeries: Fazer sites in Lahti, Lappeenranta and Vantaa, as well as all Fazer store bakeries; Lantmännen Unibake’s bakeries in Joutseno, Petikko and Hyvinkää; and Vaasan’s bakeries in Kiiminki, Kuusankoski, Vammala and Vantaa.
The strike revolves around collective bargaining agreements being negotiated with ETL mediator Janne Metsämäki.
“We cannot accept a settlement proposal in which the wage increases for food industry workers would have been lower than the wage increases in line with the general policy,” SEL chairman Veli-Matti Kuntonen said in the statement.
“The settlement proposal would also have brought completely unreasonable reductions in working hours for bakery workers. The settlement proposal would also have cut Sunday work compensation for bakery workers.”
ETL had not responded to Just Food’s request for further details on the negotiations with the SEL at the time of writing, and neither had Fazer, Lantmännen or Vaasan.
Kuntonen added: “Our members are ready to go on strike to prevent reductions in working hours. It is unfair and unreasonable to expect that the working conditions of bakery workers would be reduced so drastically.
“If the reductions in working hours go through, employees’ coping skills at work will deteriorate considerably and it will be even more difficult for them to adjust their other lives to working life, which will significantly reduce the attractiveness of bakery jobs and make it more difficult for companies to obtain workers.”
