Firefighters take strike action

The Finnish Firefighters' Union launched a strike on 27 November 1997 in a dispute concerning the pay system, working hours and the retirement age.

On 27 November 1997, the Finnish Firefighters' Union (Suomen Palomiesliitto, SPAL) called a strike which continues at the time of writing (11 December). The action arises from disagreements about firefighters' pay system, working hours and retirement age. An attempt at conciliation ended without results and the national conciliator, Juhani Salonius, came to the conclusion that the parties stood so far apart that not even a proposal for a settlement could be made.

The membership of SPAL consists of 3,100 operative firefighters. The union belongs to the Finnish Federation of Technicians in Special Branches (Suomen Erityisteknisten Liitto, SETELI), which has the negotiating rights for the workers concerned, and is a member of the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (Toimihenkilökeskusjärjestö, STTK). Altogether, there are 5,000 firefighters.

Issues behind the dispute

There are three main issues behind the firefighters' dispute:

• the firefighters are pushing for implementation of a pay scheme agreed in 1995, claiming that they should receive certain extras mentioned in the contract. According to the employers' body, the Commission for Local Authority Employers (Kunnallinen Työmarkkinalaitos, KT), the new pay scheme has already been in operation since late 1995 and salaries have increased by 8.3% (FIM 895 per month). The firefighters claim that the employers unilaterally implemented the wrong scheme;

• the union is demanding that a dispute concerning working hours should be resolved, while the employers are ignoring the whole issue. The firefighters are satisfied with their present working time arrangements but, in order that these can continue, exceptional permission is required which must be renewed periodically. The employers are not willing to give up this permission procedure; and

• the firefighters would like to lower their retirement age from 65 to 55 years, a move which would require a change in the Pension Act. On these grounds, the issue has been removed from the negotiating table. The demand has been found illegal by the Labour Court, and SPAL and SETELI have been ordered to pay a fine of FIM 30,000 each. SPAL itself has also demanded the status of a main contracting party in negotiating collective agreements.

Consequences of the dispute

With negotiations having ground to a halt - conciliation has not been started anew, and the leader of the strike has accused the employers of unwillingness to negotiate - there has been fearful speculation about the effects of the strike on public safety. On 2 December, "as an act of goodwill", the trade union designated 20 firefighters for protection work (and 170 altogether according to the latest news). According to the employers, several hundred firefighters would be needed for the necessary fire and rescue work, and they see the strike as extortion. The firefighters who do not belong to SETELI can be ordered to do protection work by the employers. Another union representing firefighters - the Trade Union for Municipal Sector (Kunta-alan ammattiliitto, KTV) - which is not on strike, has expressed its concern about safety at work and its fear that the endangering of citizens' safety can reflect badly on the whole sector and lead to "structural changes". Other unions are afraid that as a consequence of the dispute the municipalities may start to sell off ambulance transport operations and, in part, the fire service to private companies. It is possible that the right to strike may be limited by passing an act in order to provide for public protection work in such cases.

Commentary

Other unions suspect that SPAL will not be able to obtain independent negotiating rights. It is also highly unlikely that the firefighters will obtain a special pension scheme that could serve as a means of financing earlier retirement. As to motives, it can be said that there are territorial issues at stake as well. It is important for SETELI to keep its largest union as a member and even persuade the rest of the firefighters to join. There has been speculation that the strike may have resulted in victims already (several heart patients) and the pressure inside the union has become more pronounced. Some of the firefighters have already returned to work. Prolongation of the strike could lead to the restructuring of fire and rescue work in Finland. (Juha Hietanen, Ministry of Labour)