PAM expands strikes again – new massive strikes in stores
On Tuesday 31 January, Service Union United PAM announced further industrial action in the commerce sector. The collective agreement negotiations are still very much in progress, and the first strikes have not yet begun. The latest strike warning pertaining to stores covers 415 sites that employ some 26,000 people. The strike includes all K-Citymarkets, Prismas, Lidl Suomi Ky and Veljekset Keskinen Oy stores, 42 Tokmanni and 14 Kokkola Halpa-Halli stores, as well as Kesko Logistics’ terminals in Tampere, Turku, Kuopio and Oulu, among others.
PAM announced the first wave of strikes on 22 January. The first strikes will take place in the second week of February, starting on 6 February. According to PAM’s second strike warning, the logistics strikes would take place after the first wave of strikes on week 7, starting on 13 February.
According to the latest strike warning, the second wave of strikes in stores would begin at 5:00 a.m. on 16 February and end at 5:00 a.m. on 18 February. The second wave of strikes in stores will take place immediately after the second wave of strikes in warehouses.
The latest strike warning also applies to work under retail supervisors, unlike previous strike warnings.
At the same time, PAM announced overtime bans, temporary transfer bans and shift change bans. These bans apply to work carried out in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector. The bans will enter into force immediately on 1 February at 6 a.m. and will end only with a separate notification.
“Repeated waves of strikes only postpone pay increases and settlement, because there is no conciliation or negotiation during strikes. In addition, in the case of joint collective agreement reforms and projects, the road will come to a standstill for a long time. Striking creates the opposite pressure that the trade union expects to achieve,” says Anna Lavikkala, Labour Market Director of the Finnish Commerce Federation.
Lavikkala cannot understand why PAM has been loudly accusing the Finnish Commerce Federation of postponing the pay increase negotiations and emphasising the poor livelihoods of employees in the commerce sector since November and December. Now PAM, through their own actions, is only postponing pay increases for months on end.
“PAM’s actions are irresponsible. On top of that, massive strikes in succession significantly increase store losses. The employment situation in the commerce sector has also already started to decline, and many stores have started change negotiations. Finland is in a recession and the situation is already difficult for many stores,” Lavikkala says.
“There are only losers in the strike,” she says in summary.
The mediation of labour disputes between the Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM will continue under the direction of the National Conciliator on Wednesday, 1 February 2023.
The progress of the negotiations can be followed from the Negotiation Log maintained by the Finnish Commerce Federation, where the Finnish Commerce Federation constantly updates the progress of the negotiations.
For further information, please contact:
Anna Lavikkala, Labour Market Director, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)40 040 6088, anna.lavikkala(at)kauppa.fi
