Questions and Answers on Political Strikes
We have compiled questions and answers about political strikes to support our member companies.
Organizing a Strike
What is a political strike?
A political strike is a strike, which primary objectives are not related to working conditions but rather aimed at political or societal goals (e.g., the “active model” in spring 2018).
Political strikes are legal in Finland. Employees can legally leave their workplace during working hours or refrain from attending work to participate in a political strike against a political decision-maker.
For the strike to be legal, it must exclusively target political decision-makers without presenting demands related to the employees’ own collective bargaining agreement. If, during a strike, demands related to our own collective bargaining agreement are also presented, the strike essentially becomes unlawful.
How does a political strike differ from other strikes?
While a regular strike aims to influence the working conditions of employees within an industry or workplace, a political strike typically targets the government.
A regular strike is usually organised when the validity of the collective agreement ends and parties negotiate on new collective agreement.
A sympathy strike, on the other hand, supports a strike in another workplace or sector but is not directed towards the industry’s own collective agreement.
A political strike typically targets the country’s government, aiming to oppose a specific decision made by the government. The strike is legal if it does not involve any aspect of our own collective bargaining agreement
Does an employee have the right to participate in a political strike?
Yes, they do. However, in practice, a prerequisite for a political strike is that it is carried out by a trade union or labor organization.
Is there an obligation for employees to inform the employer in advance about their participation in a political strike?
There is no obligation to provide advance notice for participation in a political strike. However, employees should inform the employer about their absence, as they would for any other legally permitted absence.
Employees can be asked about their participation in a political strike in advance, with the purpose of determining whether the absence needs to be considered in the staffing plans for the planned strike days. However, there should be no pressure involved in this inquiry. It is the responsibility of the supervisors to report absences to the payroll department, unless otherwise instructed in the company’s guidelines.
The company can verify the absence through time tracking for the purpose of salary payment.
Must employees later explain how they spent their time away from work during a political strike?
Yes, for the purpose of salary payment.
Must employees attend work if only part of their shift coincides with the political strike?
The employee is obligated to attend their scheduled shift to the extent that it does not overlap with the industrial action. Therefore, the employee is required to come to work before the demonstration or return to work after the demonstration if their shift begins or ends before it. Due to a brief legal industrial action, the employee is not entitled to be absent for the entire shift. Naturally, the employer can deduct the time spent participating in the legal industrial action from the employee’s salary.
Can non-union members participate in a political strike?
Yes, they can.
Is there an obligation for union members to participate in a political strike?
The law does not compel any employee to participate in a strike; union members can choose to work during a strike. Participation in a strike depends on each employee’s individual discretion, and there are no negative consequences for choosing to work. Being present at work only violates the internal rules of the trade union at most.
Can an employee refuse some tasks based on participation in a political strike and still perform other duties?
If an employee refuses some assigned work due to a political strike, the employer is generally not obliged to allow alternative tasks. The starting point is that in this case, the employer can refuse to accept the entire work performance, and the absence is unpaid.
If there is a so-called blockade, where, for example, deliveries from a specific company or supplier are not processed, a reduction in salary may be considered proportionate to the work being refused.
It is essential to include a safety margin in the assessment to avoid excessive cuts. The justified amount must be evaluated separately for each company. Over-cuts can lead to claims of discrimination and liability for compensation, even criminal liability. The portion to be cut must be communicated in advance. It is unusual for the reduction to be more than a few tens of percent of the salary. Most likely, the reduction is usually below 10%.
This is not influenced by whether the employer can get the work covered by other employees. While this is possible, employees in such situations have what is called neutrality rights, which means they have the right to oppose the employer’s order to perform tasks related to the industrial action. Nevertheless, these tasks can still be carried out on a voluntary basis.
At the workplace, some employees are being pressured to participate in a political strike. What should the employer do?
Employees have the freedom to decide whether to participate in a strike, regardless of union membership. Employers must address situations where discussions become disruptive or harassing. Under to workplace safety laws, employers must intervene in cases of inappropriate treatment or harassment, ensuring a resolution that respects the rights of all parties.
If the employer receives information about pressure related to the strike or if such pressure is otherwise observed at the workplace, the employer has an obligation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to investigate the situation and ensure that the inappropriate treatment stops. In practice, this means that the employer must consult all relevant parties, draw conclusions from the events, take actions to stop any inappropriate behavior, and monitor the development of the situation. The measures taken should be proportionate to the incidents that occurred.
Can employers create a list of employees participating in a political strike to know the staffing situation during the strike?
Yes, employers have the right to identify who is present at the workplace. Collecting such a list is not considered pressure or coercion. However, if the list is maintained for an extended period, it may require privacy documentation.
However, in their actions, the employer must take into account that communication that the employee side has reasonably perceived or interpreted as pressure to refrain from participating in industrial action is prohibited. If the list, on the other hand, is temporary and will be destroyed soon, this is not necessary.
Can the employer prohibit the presence of external individuals (for example, PAM officials) on the employer’s premises?
The employer has control over the property, so the employer can prohibit the presence of external individuals (other than in the capacity of a customer) on the company’s premises.
Salary Payment, Commuting, and Access to Work
Does the employer have an obligation to pay salaries during a political strike?
No, there is no obligation if the employee is completely absent from work. If the employee works partially, refer to the above instructions.
If there has been an agreement for paid leave during the strike period before the strike notice, it usually remains valid. However, after issuing the strike notice, the employer is justified in being cautious about agreeing to leave, and, in general, the obligations to grant different leaves do not practically lead to the obligation for the employer to grant leave precisely during that period.
Is the employer obligated to pay wages when a remaining employee cannot perform their duties due to the absence of colleagues participating in a political strike?
When the hindrance of work is due to the industrial action of other employees, which is beyond the control of the parties to the employment contract and has no direct relationship to the working conditions or terms of employment of the affected employee (e.g., political strike), the salary is paid for a maximum of seven days.
If an employee cannot commute to work due to public transportation disruptions, can the employer sanction the employee? Is the employer obligated to pay wages?
The employer can request a written explanation for the inability to commute. If commuting is not reasonable due to public transportation disruptions and the employee lacks alternative means (e.g., a car, bicycle, or carpooling), the absence is permissible. However, there is no obligation to pay wages in such cases.
Is the employer obligated to reimburse commuting expenses during public transportation disruptions?
No, the employee is responsible for the costs.
Is absence due to a political strike considered work-equivalent time for annual leave accrual? Does the employee receive calculated wages for this time?
Absence due to a political strike is not considered work-equivalent time, and calculated wages are not provided for this period.
Does time spent on a political strike accumulate hours in the annual leave system?
No, it does not accumulate.
How are absence hours treated in the calculation of increased wages?
Absence hours are handled similarly to when an employee requests unpaid leave. The hours do not need to be made up later during the workweek or work balancing period. However, the employer also cannot mandate them at another time.
If an employee cannot take their child to daycare due to a political strike and, as a result, cannot come to work, is this a valid reason to be absent? Is the employer obligated to pay wages?
The employee should, to the best of their ability, arrange their affairs so that they can come to work. Substitute care arrangements, for example, may be considered.
The employer is not obligated to investigate the matter, arrange childcare, or allow the bringing of children to the workplace.
Ultimately, the employee may be absent from work for this reason, especially when the child is under 10 years old. There is no obligation to pay salary for this absence.
If the employee can work part-time (e.g., through remote work), they should do so. In this case, the employer would pay the salary for the time when work is performed.
Strike and Other Simultaneous Absence Reasons
How should overlapping situations of vacation and a strike be evaluated?
Concerning vacation, three key situations can be presented:
- If the vacation begins before the start of the industrial action, the holiday pay is paid as usual when the holiday starts. The onset of the strike does not interrupt the ongoing annual leave.
- If the scheduled start time of the vacation coincides with work being legally interrupted due to a strike, the advance notice of the annual leave loses its significance for the duration of the strike, and the vacation does not commence during the strike.
- If the scheduled start time of the vacation coincides with work being interrupted due to an illegal strike, the illegal strike does not, however, postpone the leave of employees participating in the industrial action.
If an employee claims sick leave or temporary caregiving leave for their child under 10 years old during a political strike, how should the employer proceed?
The employee should provide documentation of their or their child’s illness as usual. Payment is made if the ordinary conditions under the Collective Agreement in the Commerce Sector are met. If it is discovered that the employee participated in the strike without a valid reason for absence, the employer may recover the wages, and disciplinary measures may be taken for misleading information. If the employer has a reasonable suspicion of incapacity for work, the employee may be referred to another designated doctor, with the costs borne by the employer.
How should overlapping strike and other absence be assessed?
In the case of other absence reasons and a strike, the crucial factor is generally the starting time of the absence (KKO 2018:40). If, for example, sick leave begins after the strike notice but before the strike starts, the reason for the absence is a sick leave period for the overlapping time. For instance, salary payment and equivalent working time are determined based on what is considered the primary reason for the absence during the overlapping period.
