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HELSINKI University academics followed their British comrades onto the picket lines yesterday in a nationwide war over salary conditions.
Finnish education and welfare unions Juko, Fuurt, JHL and Pardia have been battling since November to keep alive a 2006 deal guaranteeing employees a voice in setting salaries.
Fuurt said in an email to its members that “the university sector has been without a collective agreement since the beginning of February. New collective labour agreement negotiations are not progressing because the employer has indicated a contempt for its staff throughout the negotiations.”
In the adjoining city of Espoo, workers at Aalto University were out in the -18°C cold to show solidarity and prepare for their own strike next Wednesday.
“It's not just the salaries, it’s the whole system,” said Aalto University industrial engineering project director Raphael Giesecke.
Next week’s strike, which affects another five universities, looks set to proceed after the employers rejected an offer made through official mediators.
